If you’re looking for a fluffy, moist marble cake that is going to WOW your family and friends, then this recipe is it! Soft layers of vanilla and chocolate cake are combined together and topped with a whipped chocolate ganache frosting – YUM! It comes together so easily using only one recipe that’s based on my 5 star rated vanilla cake recipe, which I promise will not disappoint!
What is a marble cake?
A marble cake is a type of cake that gets its name from the distinct marbled pattern it has when sliced. It is made by combining two different flavors of cake batter, usually vanilla and chocolate, in a way that creates a swirling effect.
Sometimes this effect also creates zebra like patterns (like the design I have chosen), so it’s also referred to as a zebra cake.
How do you make marble cake?
This cake surprisingly comes together very easily, despite how complicated it may look!
Begin by preheating your oven to 160 °C (320°F) with the fan on (see note 4 on recipe card below if you don’t have a fan function) and grease and/or line two 8 inch cake tins (I use my homemade cake release).
In a bowl, sift together your flour, cornflour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Using a whisk or fork, mix until well combined. Set aside.
In another bowl, add in your butter, vegetable oil and sugar. Using an electric mixer (hand or stand mixer are both fine – see note 2 on recipe card below), cream together for 2 minutes until light and creamy.
Add in eggs one by one, mixing well in between each addition (about 10-15 seconds between eggs).
Add in your vanilla, vinegar and half a cup of the buttermilk, and mix until well combined. Now set your mixer aside as the remainder of the batter will be finished by hand.
Finish off by adding in half of your premixed dry ingredients to your wet mixture, and gently fold it in with a spatula until just combined. Then add in the remaining 1 cup of buttermilk, and fold it in until just combined. Lastly, add in the remaining dry ingredients and gently fold it into the mixture until just combined. Do not overmix (see note 3 on recipe card below).
Divide the batter equally into two separate bowls (I would recommend weighing the batter to make sure you have an even amount in each bowl. Mine comes to around 685g each once divided).
To one half of the batter, add in the cocoa powder, instant coffee powder and vegetable oil. Fold with a spatula until just combined.
Divide the batter evenly into the two 8 inch cake tins. You can use your own marbling technique or use the method I like to use which gives you a very cool pattern on the inside.
To do this, place 3 tablespoons of the chocolate batter in the middle of each cake tin. Spread out a little and then directly on top of it add in 3 tablespoons of the vanilla cake batter. Repeat these steps alternating between the two flavours. Every now and then I like to gently shake/twirl the cake tin to help the batter spread out towards the edges of the cake tin (I would recommend watching the video below for a demonstration of this technique).
Once all the batter is used up, gently shake the tins again to help even out the batter, and gently tap them on your countertop twice to remove any large air bubbles.
OPTIONAL: If you won’t be icing your cake, then you create a nice flower like pattern on the top of your cake. To do this, place a toothpick at the edge of the cake tin, and drag it into the middle of the cake tin and lift it out. Wipe the toothpick clean and then do the same thing on the opposite side of the cake tin. Now keep doing this, working your way around the cake tin (I do it 8 times in total). I would recommend watching the video demonstration below as it’s a little hard to explain! 🙂
Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Once done, let the cakes cool in the cake tins for 20 minutes and then turn them out onto a wire rack to completely cool.
How to make Whipped Chocolate Ganache Frosting
Chop up your chocolate into small pieces (no need to do this if using chocolate callets) and place in a heat proof bowl.
Place the cream in a saucepan over a low-medium heat and heat it up until it begins to gently bubble. Once it’s gently bubbling, immediately take it off the heat (you don’t want to overheat the cream) and pour it over the chocolate.
Allow the chocolate/cream mixture to sit for 5 minutes untouched. After 5 minutes, stir with a spatula and then using an immersion blender, blend until smooth. Keep the immersion blender on the bottom of the bowl to prevent air bubbles getting into the ganache.
Pour the ganache into a wide baking tray/dish (this will allow it to cool quicker), and cover it with cling wrap so that it’s touching the top of the ganache. This will prevent a skin from forming as it cools. Place it in the fridge for at least a few hours to allow it to thicken up and become very cold. You can also do this step the day beforehand.
Once ready, pour the ganache into a bowl and whip until you reach stiff peaks. It comes together quite quickly so be careful not to overwhip the cream. Use it to frost your marble cake 🙂
How to assemble your marble cake
Begin by placing your first cake layer onto your cake stand and smooth out a generous amount of the whipped ganache frosting on top.
Then place your next cake layer on top and cover the top and sides with more whipped ganache. I like to smooth out the sides with my cake scraper.
Finish off the top with some piping. I used a 1M piping tip. After that, cut a slice and enjoy!
Fluffy Marble Cake
Print Pin VideoIMPORTANT: For accuracy, I would recommend using the gram measurements provided, as those are the exact quantities I use. Cup measurements are given as estimates (based on US cup measurements) to make it easier for those who do not have a scale.
Ingredients
Vanilla Cake
- 2¼ cups (300 g) flour - regular all purpose (see note 1 if you want to use cake flour)
- ¼ cup (25 g) cornflour - also known as cornstarch
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt - omit if using salted butter
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter - room temperature
- ½ cup (105 g) unflavoured vegetable oil - I use canola
- 1⅔ cups (332 g) white granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs - room temperature
- 1¼ tbsp vanilla essence/extract
- 1 tsp white vinegar
- 1½ cups (337 g) buttermilk - room temperature, see note 5 if using a homemade buttermilk substitute
Extra Ingredients for Chocolate Portion of Cake
- ⅓ cup (33 g) cocoa powder - unsweetened, dutch processed preferred
- 1 tsp instant coffee powder
- 1 tbsp unflavoured vegetable oil - I use canola
Whipped Chocolate Ganache Frosting
- 3 cups (675 g) cream - minimum fat percentage of 34%
- 1⅔ cups (270 g) dark chocolate - I use 50% dark chocolate, semi-sweet okay too
Instructions
- IMPORTANT: For this recipe I would highly recommend using gram measurements, especially for the flour for accurate results. It has a high fat/liquid ratio so slight adjustments to the quantities can throw off the balance of the cake 🙂
- If using the whipped dark chocolate ganache frosting, then I would recommend making it before you start on the cake as it needs time to cool in the fridge before whipping (instructions for making the ganache are after the vanilla cake).
Vanilla Cake
- Preheat oven to 160 °C (320°F) with the fan on (see note 4 if you don't have a fan function) and grease and/or line two 8 inch cake tins (I use my homemade cake release).
- In a bowl, sift together your flour, cornflour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Using a whisk or fork, mix until well combined. Set aside.
- In another bowl, add in your butter, vegetable oil and sugar. Using an electric mixer (hand or stand mixer are both fine - see note 2), cream together for 2 minutes until light and creamy.
- Add in eggs one by one, mixing well in between each addition (about 10-15 seconds between eggs).
- Add in your vanilla, vinegar and half a cup of the buttermilk, and mix until well combined. Now set your mixer aside as the remainder of the batter will be finished by hand.
- Finish off by adding in half of your premixed dry ingredients to your wet mixture, and gently fold it in with a spatula until just combined. Then add in the remaining 1 cup of buttermilk, and fold it in until just combined. Lastly, add in the remaining dry ingredients and gently fold it into the mixture until just combined. Do not overmix (see note 3).
- Divide the batter equally into two separate bowls (I would recommend weighing the batter to make sure you have an even amount in each bowl. Mine comes to around 685g each once divided).
- To one half of the batter, add in the cocoa powder, instant coffee powder and vegetable oil. Fold with a spatula until just combined.
- Divide the batter evenly into the two 8 inch cake tins. You can use your own marbling technique or use the method I like to use which gives you a very cool pattern on the inside. To do this, place 3 tablespoons of the chocolate batter in the middle of each cake tin. Spread out a little and then directly on top of it add in 3 tablespoons of the vanilla cake batter. Repeat these steps alternating between the two flavours. Every now and then I like to gently shake/twirl the cake tin to help the batter spread out towards the edges of the cake tin (I would recommend watching the video below for a demonstration of this technique).
- Once all the batter is used up, gently shake the tins again to help even out the batter, and gently tap them on your countertop twice to remove any large air bubbles.
- OPTIONAL: If you won't be icing your cake, then you create a nice flower like pattern on the top of your cake. To do this, place a toothpick at the edge of the cake tin, and drag it into the middle of the cake tin and lift it out. Wipe the toothpick clean and then do the same thing on the opposite side of the cake tin. Now keep doing this, working your way around the cake tin (I do it 8 times in total). I would recommend watching the video demonstration below as it's a little hard to explain! 🙂
- Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Once done, let the cakes cool in the cake tins for 20 minutes and then turn them out onto a wire rack to completely cool before frosting with the whipped chocolate ganache or another frosting of your choice.
Whipped Dark Chocolate Ganache
- Chop up your chocolate into small pieces (no need to do this if using chocolate callets) and place in a heat proof bowl.
- Place the cream in a saucepan over a low-medium heat and heat it up until it begins to gently bubble. Once it's gently bubbling, immediately take it off the heat (you don't want to overheat the cream) and pour it over the chocolate.
- Allow the chocolate/cream mixture to sit for 5 minutes untouched. After 5 minutes, stir with a spatula and then using an immersion blender, blend until smooth. Keep the immersion blender on the bottom of the bowl to prevent air bubbles getting into the ganache.
- Pour the ganache into a wide baking tray/dish (this will allow it to cool quicker), and cover it with cling wrap so that it's touching the top of the ganache. This will prevent a skin from forming as it cools. Place it in the fridge for at least a few hours to allow it to thicken up and become very cold. You can also do this step the day beforehand.
- Once ready, pour the ganache into a bowl and whip until you reach stiff peaks. It comes together quite quickly so be careful not to overwhip the cream. Use it to frost your marble cake 🙂
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information are estimates only as they are automatically calculated by a third party application. Actual values may differ based on brands and types of products used.
134 Comments
Hello
You say you use canola oilbut can I use just regular vegetable oil from the supermarket?
Hi Jill! 🙂
Yes if you use an unflavored vegetable oil then it should be fine 🙂
Hope you enjoy the recipe!
This is going to be my Christmas dinner dessert! If I wanted to turn this into a orange marble cake, what would you suggest I do?
Hi Sneha! 🙂
So sorry for the delay in reply here. Hmm for an orange marble cake, you’d want to flavor half of the batter with either orange zest or orange juice (or both!). You probably don’t want to use too much orange juice though as you don’t want the batter to be too liquidy. I do have an orange cake recipe if you wanted to seek some inspiration from there 🙂
Hope that helps for future and hope it turned out great as a Christmas dessert if you ended up trying it out 🙂
If I want to use 2 10″ cake pans. Would you suggest making 1.5 times the recipe? And would I need to use a flower nail in the centre when baking? I also always use baking strips. Thanks for your help.
Heya!
For two 10 inch cake pans I would recommend making double the recipe 🙂
You can use a flower nail if you like for more even baking. If you don’t have one though it should still be okay, just keep a close eye on the cakes when they’re almost done baking to ensure they don’t overbake 🙂
Enjoy!
This cake turned out so unbelievably fluffy and moist! The only thing I would change is to add a bit more sugar since the chocolate batter part of the recipe was too cocoa-y for my liking.
Aww yay! So glad you loved the recipe Camber 😀
Yes you can totally make the chocolate batter a little sweeter if you like 🙂
Thanks for the wonderful feedback!
As salam u Alaikum,
Do I need to add the vinegar when I use homemade buttermilk.. as it already has vinegar in it.
Wassalaam Maleeha! 🙂
Yes I would recommend still adding in the additional vinegar.
Hope you enjoy the recipe!
Hi MK,
Just wondering can this cake be frozen before I put the ganache on it? Thanks.
Hi Mary! 🙂 I haven’t tried freezing these cake layers myself so I’m not too sure, but I think if they’re wrapped well with cling wrap and placed into an airtight container before freezing it should be fine! Just let them thaw well before adding on the ganache.
Hope that helps and hope you enjoy the recipe!
So in the USA we call this a zebra cake….i have tried a dozen recipes from all over the world. YOURS IS THE BEST! It came out beautiful and delicious.
Aww yay! So happy to hear you enjoyed the cake Cori 😀
Really appreciate the wonderful feedback 🙂
Hello MK, I follow your recipe and made this delicious most velvety marble cake. I turned it into a sheet cake for a birthday celebration. Everyone love it! Thank you for sharing.
Hi Cassandra! Aww yay I am so so happy to hear the marble cake came out awesome as a sheet cake and that everyone loved it 😀
Really appreciate the wonderful feedback 🙂
This looks amazing! I want to try this haha. Can I make them cupcakes? Thanks!
Thanks so much Anika! 😀
Yes you could totally turn these into cupcakes, you just want to reduce the cook time to about the 18 min mark 🙂
Hope that helps and hope you enjoy the recipe!
Hi MK! I am thinking about making this but using a sheet tray. What time and temperature would you recommend? Thank you!
Hi Jasmine! 🙂 You can totally turn this into a 9×13 inch sheet cake. Everything would stay the same except the cook time. The cake is likely to bake slightly faster so just check it a little earlier than the stated cook time. Hope that helps and hope you enjoy the recipe 😀