Chocolate or vanilla?
Now there’s no need to choose with this gorgeous Marble Cake! Swirls of vanilla and chocolate cake batter combine to form the prettiest one layer cake. And to top it all off, there’s plenty of deliciously rich and fudgy chocolate buttercream (made with REAL chocolate).
It’s the perfect cake for people like me who love both chocolate AND vanilla.
I’m loving cake more and more as I get older. When I started this blog, I was a cookie person through and through. But the more I make cake, the more I like it. Give me a slice of Yellow Cake or Chocolate Fudge Cake and I’m one happy lady.
But now I can have both and it makes me very very happy. This Marble Cake is pretty and easy and tastes downright delicious. There’s also no need to go all out with decorations because the swirls inside the cake do all the talking.
The final touch to this Chocolate Vanilla Cake is lashings of chocolate frosting. But not just any chocolate frosting. No siree. This here is my favourite frosting made with both cocoa powder AND melted chocolate. Hello chocolate goodness!
There is something about using real chocolate in frosting that just takes it to the next level flavour-wise. I always have people ask why my frosting tastes so good. A little extra chocolate goes a long way to making an extra special frosting,
There’s really no rules when it comes to swirling the cake batter. Some like to dollop each cake batter around the pan and then swirl it with a knife. I like to spoon tablespoons of the batter on top of each other for more layering. But as long as you don’t mix them together too much, you will end up with a lovely pattern – and each time it’s unique.
The cake is lovely and soft, with a tender crumb. It is a runnier batter which helps the two cake batters to blend rather than just blob in one spot. It’s actually an incredibly light cake to eat, and it goes really well with the over-the-top choc frosting.
So if you have a celebration coming up or just feel like a sweet cake for afternoon tea, try this one! And don’t worry, you don’t have to make two different cake batters. Just the one. Then at the end, you just separate some of it out and add some cocoa powder and a little extra milk.
And voila! Vanilla and chocolate cake batter ready to go. Whip up your chocolate frosting and you are good to go. Don’t you just love one layer cakes? Easy and delicious.
How was your weekend? Mine is still going, can you believe it? Two four day long weekends in a row and I am NOT complaining. I watched La La Land again last night. Have you seen it? It has got to be my new favourite movie. It has everything I love. America, big dreams, and a little romance in-between.
I’m still trying to process whether I think Mia and Seb should or could have ended up together. Part of me thinks they were in each other’s life simply to help each other achieve their dreams. And while I love that they didn’t go down to the traditional boy meets girl route in the movie, I do think their chemistry was undeniable!
Let's Bake
Marble Cake with Chocolate Frosting
Swirls of vanilla and chocolate cake batter combine to form the prettiest one layer Marble Cake with Chocolate Frosting.
Ingredients
Cake batter
- 115 grams (1/2 cup or 1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 150 grams (3/4 cup) caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 210 grams (1 and 1/2 cup) plain flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 240 ml (1 cup) milk
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) natural yogurt
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon milk
Chocolate frosting
- 115 grams (1/2 cup or 1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 100 grams (2/3 cup) good quality dark chocolate
- 500 grams (4 cups) icing sugar
- 60 ml (1/4 cup) milk
- 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 C (350 F) standard / 160 C (320 F) fan-forced. Line and grease an 8-inch round cake pan with baking or parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until pale and creamy. Add the vanilla and beat again. Add the egg, beat again, then scrape down the sides. In a separate bowl, sift the plain flour and baking powder together.
- Add half of the flour mixture to the butter and half of the milk and slow mix together on a low speed. Add the rest of the flour and the milk and continue to mix until combined. Finally, add the yogurt and mix until smooth and creamy.
- Remove 3/4 cup of the vanilla cake batter and add it to a separate bowl. To this, add the cocoa powder and extra tablespoon of milk. Stir until smooth.
- Add two tablespoons of vanilla cake batter to your prepared tin, followed by two tablespoons of chocolate. Continue with remaining cake batter, letting the cake batters swirl and combine. Bake for approximately 25-30 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Leave to cool for 10 minutes before gently removing from the tin and leaving to cool completely on a wire rack.
- To make the frosting, place your softened butter in a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for a couple of minutes until pale and creamy. Meanwhile melt the chocolate in a microwave, stirring in between 20 second bursts, until just melted and set aside to cool a little.
- Once the butter is very pale and creamy, add in half of the powdered sugar and two tablespoons of milk and beat until combined. Next, add the remaining sugar, cocoa powder and milk, and beat on slow until the sugar is incorporated before turning up to medium for another minute or so.
- Next, add in your melted chocolate to the buttercream mixture, ensuring the chocolate is still smooth and melted but is not warm. Beat until the chocolate is completely mixed through. Add frosting to cooled cake using a small spatula.
Paulene Ashmore says
I made this today and like a couple of other comments, I also found that the sponge came out on the doughy side and heavy. I had a 9 inch tin and baked it for around 30 minutes so it was done. I have to agree with someone else who commented that perhaps there is too much flour in the recipe. The chocolate frosting is divine but the quantity is very generous and I didn’t use it all.
I have made the cinnamon crunch cake and also the apple and cinnamon cake, both of which have been perfect and delicious. Thank you!
★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Paulene, sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy it. The cake should really be quite light and fluffy. My advice would be just to make sure you cream the butter and sugar for long enough. The creaming method is what will give you that lovely soft texture – that and the yogurt. Thank you for your feedback.
Nadisha says
I made this and it just came out of the oven nice and pretty but so sticky in the middle… whyyyyyu what could I have done wrong??
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Nadisha, perhaps it needed longer in the oven. Get hold of an oven thermometer to double check your oven temperature.
Zoha says
This is the first time I am making a marble cake and it turned out awesome. It was so fluffy and moist! Great recipe jess!❤😄❤️
Jessica Holmes says
So happy to hear that Zoha!
Shabnam says
Hi Jessica I just made this cake unfortunately its come out really doughy, like there’s too much flour. i followed the recipe exactly, the only thing being was that my egg was not large, but apart from everything was exactly as you said. what do you think could have happened? thanks
Jessica Holmes says
Hi, sorry to hear that. I’m not sure what went wrong as the cake shouldn’t be doughy but light and fluffy. Perhaps it was underbaked?
Janet says
Can you use sour cream instead of yogurt? Thank you!
Jessica Holmes says
Yes absolutely!
Imene says
Nice recipe! But I want to use a 10 inch cake tin, how can I adapt the recipe please?
Jessica Holmes says
Hi Imene, if you use a larger cake tin, your cake will be flatter and therefore cook more quickly. You’ll need to adjust the cooking time accordingly. Hope that helps!
Josh says
This cake is amazing!
★★★★★
Jessica Holmes says
Thanks Josh!
Lynn says
Great point about marble cakes always being unique because they all get swirled differently! Sounds like a good excuse to make one often, haha!
Jessica Holmes says
Amen to that! 😉
Danielle says
I feel like you should never have to choose between chocolate and vanilla 😉 And how awesome that you don’t have to make two different batters for this cake too?! This is perfect, Jess!
Jessica Holmes says
Thanks Danielle! 🙂