This Marble Cake is soft and fluffy with a nice balance of the chocolate and butter cake portions. Delightfully fragrant and easy to savour, this Marble Cake Recipe is revamped an earlier version three years ago! Look forward to a delicious marble cake that pleases the generations!
Firstly, this Marble Cake is perfect for those who likes a background of bittersweet chocolate. Therefore, the addition of cocoa powder facilitates exactly that to create the chocolate portions. However, do make sure to use good quality cocoa powder if possible so that you will just have to add a little and yet have that rich chocolate flavour!
Secondly, this cake requires “marbling” which is distinctive of the Marble Cake. In order to marble, simply take portions of butter cake batter and chocolate cake batter at alternative places. Then, use a plastic knife to swirl it for pattern creation. However, do be careful not to swirl too much or the patterns will not be distinctive!
Personally, I placed a thin layer of butter cake batter. Next, I placed six spoonfuls of chocolate cake batter at six different ends before filling the remaining space with vanilla cake batter.
This cake is really rewarding to make as all my family members love it! I will be leaving these two links here for your reference too:
1. Original Butter Cake recipe, which this recipe is derived from!
2. What to do if your butter cakes did not live up to your expectations.
Without further ado, let me share with you, the recipe!
Marble Cake Recipe
by Javier Tan May-10-2020
This soft and fluffy Marble Cake comes with a good mixture of vanilla and chocolate portions. It becomes even softer and more fragrant overnight!
Ingredients
- 1 Cup or 225g Unsalted Butter, softened at room temperature
- 3/4 Cup + 1 Tablespoons or 160g Granulated White Sugar
- 1 and 3/4 Cups or 210g All Purpose Flour, Sifted
- 1 Teaspoon or 4g Baking Powder
- 1/4 Teaspoon or 1.4g Table Salt
- 2 and 1/2 Teaspoons or 18g Cocoa Powder, Unsweetened
- 1/3 Cup or 90ml Full Cream Milk, Room Temperature
- 3 Large Eggs, Room Temperature, 55g each
- 1 Teaspoon or 5ml Vanilla Extract or 10ml of Vanilla Essence
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 160 degrees C / 320F and line your 8 inches round baking tray with parchment paper.
- Then, beat the unsalted butter slightly for a couple of minutes to fluff it up and loosen it.
- Next, cream butter and and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add in the eggs, mixing well after each addition.
- Then, add in the milk, vanilla extract and salt and mix well.
- Sift in the flour and baking powder and fold them using a spoon / spatula until the dry ingredients are incorporated (approx 30s).
- Divide the batter into approximately two halves, with one halve having a slightly smaller portion.
- Fold in sifted cocoa powder to the smaller halve.
- To marble, place a thin layer of butter cake batter. Then place six spoonfuls of chocolate batter all over, and fill up the space with the remaining butter cake batter. Make “S”-shaped swirls using a small knife.
- Bake the cake for about 52-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. If nearing an hour and the toothpick comes out with just very fine lumps, it is considered fully baked as well.
- Cool at room temperature for an hour before serving. This cake softens and tastes better after being stored at room temperature for 24 hours.
Details
- Prep time:20 mins
- Cook time:50 mins
- Total time:1 hour 10 mins
- Yield: 1 8 Inch Round Cake
Notes:
- 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, I would greatly appreciate it!
- Best eaten within 5 days, stored at room temperature in an airtight container!
- Feel free to ask if you need help!
Enjoy!
– Bakeomaniac, Javier Tan
[…] a recipe for – Honey Butter Cake. Over the years, I’ve made the classic butter cake, marble butter cake, alongside fruit flavours such as my banana butter cake and orange butter cake. Honestly, butter […]
Hey Javier, I subbed the AP flour for cake flour and still enjoyed the texture of the final product. Reminiscent of the childhood marble cake I used to eat. The only downside is that my cake didn’t come out flat. Instead it became almost dome-shaped and cracked on the surface. Is that due to the temperature of the oven? Wondering how to achieve a more aesthetically pleasing look next time. Lol. Thanks again for a great recipe.
Hey Phoebe, thank you for dropping by my blog and trying your hand out at my recipe! I am so happy to hear that you like the flavour of it, and the nostalgia that comes with it 😀 I made these to model the old school kind of cake and I am glad the taste shows!
Regarding the dome-shaped issue, you are right about the temperature of the oven being slightly too high! Sometimes for these slightly more sensitive bakes, I use heat strips or rotate the cake to ensure a more even heating. Other methods to introduce an even heating should work too 😀 And thank you for your kind appreciation!
Happy baking and feel free to ask if anything else pops up 😀
Hi Javier, happened to chance upon your page when i was searching for marble cake recipe to bake for my mum. And i must say your marble cake looks amazingly good! 👍🏻
Can i ask if the cake is meant to be a flatter/shorter version? Because i followed your recipe, same ingredients same steps, but it looks shorter as compared to the normal marble cake i have seen. But the taste is superb! Actually the texture is good too, just that it can get a little bit crumbly. But overall it’s really really yummy!
Hey ML! Thank you for dropping by and trying your hand at my recipe! Am so happy it worked out for you 😀
You are right about the shorter part! Actually, a lot of marble cakes we see are Marble Sponge Cakes. They are spongey and taller as they incorporate whipped egg whites. This is a more westernized recipe without using the whipped egg whites but through baking powder for a lift in height, but not as much as the whipped egg whites!
The crumbliness could be reduced by having 15-30g less flour. It could have slight alterations depending on things like egg size and so on which affects how much liquid it is.
I am glad you enjoyed the recipe and most importantly, your family members like it too 😀
Hi Javier, wow thanks for the detailed explanation! Clear & easy to understand, way better than me asking Google. 😄
Am definitely going to bake again this weekend cause my 1st marble cake was gone in a day! 😅
Sorry, one more question if you don’t mind. As my all-purpose flour is running low, can i use cake flour or top flour instead?
Thank you once again for all your sharing & advice given. 👍🏻😊
Am glad that my response helped 😀
I hope I am not too late as it is already Sunday! Please do use cake flour especially as it does give a cake a softer finish and the texture is better! I have not tried for top flour yet but I believe it should have the same effect 🙂
Happy weekends and baking!! 😀
Hi Javier, wow many thanks for the detailed explanation. 👍🏻
Clear & simple to understand, way better than me asking Google! Hahaha! 😄
Am definitely going to bake this again this weekend. 😊
One more question if you don’t mind, as my all-purpose flour is running low, can i use cake flour or top flour instead?
Thank you once again for all your sharing & advice. 👍🏻😊
Just replied to the other comment 😀 And no worries, sorry if I was late in answering! I hope you still managed to bake it on time!!
Hi Javier, thanks for replying & so sorry for the repeated message cause i thought it was my connection problem. 😅
No worries, it’s not late at all as i was just about to start baking. ✌🏻 great i shall use my cake flour this round.
Thank you once again & have a great Sunday too. 😊
No worries 😀 It does happen sometimes and I am glad you submitted it twice! Usually I receive email notification but they come so late as compared to when the message was sent!
Hope you will like the softer finish, I did enjoy it for sure!
Hi Javier, just to share indeed the texture is softer and again it’s so delicious that half of it is gone right after its cooled down! 😅
Am gonna kept the remaining half for tomorrow’s breakfast!
This recipe of yours is definitely a keeper! 👍🏻😊
Looking forward to trying more of your bakes. Thanks!
Hey ML, nice to hear from you again! Am so glad it worked out well for you!! Will slowly try to pump out more bakes too. Currently am in internship and very hectic, but I still do find time to bake just that recipe development has been slower :p
Oh Hi Javier, enjoy your internship and no worries about sharing. I’m happy with my love for marble cake now and will continue to try out your other recipes as well. Thanks. 🙂
Hey ML! Thank you :p I am glad that you love it! I am going to try my best in this intern. If it works out, I will continue. If it doesn’t, I might just start my own bakery!
Hi i tried making your cake however the batter separates into two layers after adding in the egg altho my butter is softened at room temp. May i know why?
Hey Woo! Thank you for dropping by!
It could be that there are ingredients that are still not at room temperature yet (such as milk or even the eggs!).
Hi Javier,
Can I steam the cake instead of baked as I do not have an oven? Thanks 🙏
Hey Lina! Thank you for dropping by! I haven’t tried steaming myself but because this is a baking-powder based cake, I feel that it should work out!
Thanks! I would try and feedback to you 😊
Hey Lina, thank you too, looking forward to your feedback 😀
Hi Javier, This cake recipe is my first cake:) my cake turn out Nice but crumbly. The different thing i did was i cut sugar to 130g and the bake time was extended for 10mins More becos at 55mins 160 degree my cake was very pale on top.
Do you have any advice for me to make it less crumbly? It’s definitely due to my inexperience this first try.
Hey Kae! Thank you for trying out my recipe and dropping by here! I am glad the flavour worked out for you!
Sugar-wise, it is a common problem that is faced when there is a sugar reduction as sugar helps to hold the structure of the cake well. To make it less crumbly, perhaps you can consider cutting the sugar to just 140g or 150g for a start and then seeing if your techniques are right from there! Perhaps cutting back on a little of the flour might help too!
Regarding the pale top, I would recommend turning up to 180 degrees C at the last 7-10 minutes for a browner top or to put the cake one tier higher than where it is now. As my oven is quite small, it is usually quite easy for me to achieve a brown top since it is closer to the heat source. Hope that helps 🙂
Feel free to ask further or if you have anything to clarify. Would be more than happy to help!
Hey javier! Thanks for sharing this recipe. I tried making this today – the flavour is great! Unfortunately, the crumb came out a bit too dry and im not too sure why. The mixture didn’t really come together when I tried adding the milk in small additions, but eventually when I mixed fast enough it came together somewhat, before this watery liquid starting separating from the rest of the batter. Folding in the flour seemed to help though, although the batter seemed a bit more viscous than I otherwise expected to be. If you have any advice I’d be grateful to get some tips for future reference!
Hey Lauren!! Its likely that perhaps your ingredients are not the right temperature, leading to curdling and hence two separate layers. Particularly, its likely that the ingredients are too cold.
Hi Javier, do you have the measurement for 6 inch cake instead? I don’t have any 8 inch mold😭
Hey Casey! You can either halve the recipe for the 6 inch mould or make 2 6 inch mould cakes! However, the height would differ just very slightly and the baking time should be considerably shorter (I am guessing about 5-15 minutes shorter). Hope that helps!
Hey Javier, thank you so much for the recipe. I used soft brown sugar and reduced to 130gm. Still turned out good! One of my favourite cake. i followed your recipe closely and the cake turned out well! Stay safe!
Hey Jenny! Thank you for letting me know about your successful sugar reduction! I heard a few people did it but hearing you do it successfully too really affirms me that its possible to cut back on sugar level and I would share what you did with those interested to do the same!
Am so glad too that you like the final baked product! Wishing your family to be safe and healthy too ^_^
Hi Javier, can I use self-raising flour since it is tough to find baking powder nowadays.
Hey Dawn! Thank you for dropping by! Yup its possible to use self-raising flour and do not add any more baking powder to the mix and you will be good to go 🙂
The baking powder is only for all-purpose flour but self-raising flour already has baking powder added.
I’d there any differences in using a whisk instead of a paddle to cream the butter n sugar pls? Most recipes use a paddle to cream .. tq
Hey Ailean! Thank you for dropping by!
I doubt there’s any difference as long as the hook attachment (for bread making) is not used. Both whisk and paddle work, though I always have a preference for whisk attachment as it helps to whip in more air at a faster speed from my own observation. However, both leads to the same outcome!
Any different if I beat the egg white separately? Tq
Yup it does 🙂 It will be slightly more airy! I actually did ad egg white method for the butter cake previously, which you can see here too:
https://bakeomaniac.com/butter-cake-recipe-egg-separation/
Thanks ! Beating can i use whisk too ? Sorry seems so silly to ask again 🤣
No worries at all Teresa 😀 they are good quests! Yup you should most definitely use a whisk! I used a spoon last time for convenience but I realize the difference in the outcomes are quite noticable. The whisk one is definitely better!
Thanks Javier for being so friendly ! Stay safe and all d best for your studies !
No worries and I am very glad to be of help 😀 will keep doing my best! Meanwhile also wishing you and your love ones to be safe and healthy!
Creaming and beating is not the same, Javier ? Creaming is it using wooden spoon?
Hey Teresa, that is a good question! In my humble opinion, I find creaming to be a scientific / baking term which is the act of incorporating the butter and sugar together until it is light and fluffy but beating it together is the way to achieve creaming!
For creaming, I always use a hand held whisk or whisk-attachment if I am using a mixer 😀
Are the eggs (55gm) weighed with shell? Thank you.
Hey thank you for dropping by! Yup you are right, these are weighed with shell! I do understand that egg varieties are quite different world wide so to be precise, you can use 50-60gm weighed with shell fi you can’t find the 55gm variety 🙂
Tq for your selfless way of sharing your recipes.God bless you
Thank you for your kind appreciation too and even dropping by here for encouraging me personally. I appreciate it a lot and I am wishing you a blissful and healthy week!! 🙂
Can I use fresh milk instead of full cream milk, pls advise Tqvm
Hey Margaret, thank you for dropping by. You most definitely can, I tried it before myself 😀