This Coffee Marble Cake combines buttery vanilla cake with fragrant coffee swirls, finished with a flavourful coffee glaze. It’s a lovely bake for an afternoon break, and one that makes it tempting to reach for another slice!

I adapted this from my Coffee Butter Cake recipe, leaving half the batter vanilla-flavoured for a contrast between the two flavours. The butter adds richness, while the coffee brings an aromatic flavour that pairs beautifully with it. As the coffee glaze adds a little bit of sweetness separately, you can finish with a light drizzle or leave it out completely.

One of my favourite parts of making marble cake is cutting into it, as each slice reveals a slightly different pattern, with ribbons of coffee swirls running through the golden butter cake!

Why You’ll Love This

  • Buttery with fragrant coffee swirls: Enjoy vanilla butter cake and aromatic coffee in every slice
  • Perfect for sharing: A simple homemade bake for afternoon coffee break / kopi, weekend gatherings or a little treat after work
  • Optional coffee glaze: Adds an extra boost of coffee flavour, or enjoy the cake on its own
  • Easy to make: Straightforward ingredients and simple mixing

Making The Coffee Swirls

Choose a coffee you enjoy drinking, since its flavour will come through in the finished cake. You can spoon or pipe the two batters into your pan. I piped mine for more control over the placement, but spooning alternating dollops works too and requires less equipment and traps less air bubbles (which may result in holes).

Whichever method you choose, keep the portions touching and gently settle each layer to close any gaps. Thick batter can trap pockets of air between portions, so avoid leaving spaces beneath or between your dollops or piped strips. Thereafter, finish with one broad, gentle swirling pass. Too much swirling blends the colours together rather than elaving a distinct marble pattern.

Without further ado, the recipe!

Coffe Marble Recipe
by Javier Tan October-05-2026

Bake this buttery coffee marble cake with fragrant coffee swirls and an optional coffee glaze. An easy recipe with step-by-step instructions.

Ingredients (Coffee Marble Cake)

  • 1 Cup or 225g Unsalted Butter, softened at room temp
  • Approx 2/3 Cup or 130g White Sugar
  • 3 Large eggs, room temp, approx 60g each
  • 1 Tsp or 5ml Vanilla essence
  • (Main batter) 1/4 Cup or 60g Milk
  • (Vanilla batter) 1 Tbsp or 15g Milk
  • (Coffee batter) Brewed Coffee Concentrate: 1 Tbsp Milk or 15g Milk + 1 and 1/2 Tbsps or 7g instant Coffee Granules
  • 1 and 3/4 Cups or 210g All-Purpose / Plain Flour
  • 1 Tsp or 4g of Baking Powder, sifted
  • Pinch of Salt

Ingredients (Coffee Glaze)

  • Approx 1/2 Cup or 60g of Icing Sugar, Sifted
  • 1/2 Tsp Coffee Granules
  • 2 Tsp or 10ml Hot Water

Instructions

  1. At low heat, dissolve the coffee in the milk to make the coffee concentrate. Set aside to cool.
  2. Then, cream butter and sugar together until light, approx 2 – 3 mins.
  3. Whisk in the 3 eggs one at a time until well combined.
  4. Mix in the vanilla, milk and plain flour and baking powder and whisk until combined. Divide the batter into two halves.
  5. For the coffee batter, fold in the coffee concentrate into one half, while adding the tablespoonful of milk into the other half.
  6. Then, add alternating spoonfuls of vanilla and coffee batter until all the batter has been used. I am using a 7 inch round baking tray, a 9 in x 5 in loaf pan works too (slightly shotter). Insert a small knife or skewer into the batter and draw a couple of large “S”-shaped movements. Do not swirl excessively as this might remove the distinct marble pattern. Tap the tray against the counter a few times to dislodge excess air pockets.
  7. Bake at 170C in a pre-heated oven for approx 54 – 59 mins or until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean or with a few fine, moist crumbs.
  8. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for at least 30 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
  9. Cool completely before serving and enjoy!

Details

  • Prep time: 30 mins
  • Cook time: 1 hour
  • Total time: 1 hour 30 mins
  • Yield: 1 x Delectable Coffee Marble Cake

Notes:

  1. If you would like to be updated for more recipes which I strive to create to perfection for sharing and for free, do check out my Instagram, Facebook Page, or YouTube 🙂 Thank you so much for all of your support! Feel free to tag me or link back here!
  2. Serve fresh at room temperature (up to 4 days) or refrigerated up to 6 days. If refrigerated, do remove it 20 – 30 mins prior to serving. You can also consider microwaving it for a short blast.
  3. Please do not copy and paste the recipe without my permission, but feel free to link back here!

Enjoy!
– Bakeomaniac, Javier Tan