Chocolate Marble Cake Recipe

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Chocolate marble cakes have been my favourite cake since childhood. I remember thinking how amazing it was as a child, two cakes in one, mixed together and with both flavours so present. I used to have it at home, in my lunch box and as the ultimate treat. So now I’ve made my very own home made marble cake recipes – and this chocolate vanilla marble cake tastes just as good as it did in my childhood and is definitely one of my favourite recipes.

Can you make marble cake in other flavour combinations?

For a bit of variation on the flavours I have been experimenting using Sugar & Crumbs flavoured cocoa powders or by adding a flavouring to the mixture – I’ve bought some orange flavouring to make chocolate orange and vanilla marble cake and will try peppermint as well for a mint choc and vanilla version. The flavour combinations you could make are pretty limitless and I can’t wait to make more homemade marble cake variations in the future.

I think this chocolate marble loaf cake may be the most nostalgic bake I have ever made and I know it’s one that my children will always look back on fondly too. It’s great as a cake to enjoy when friends come round, for afternoon tea or baking as a gift for a new neighbour or a school bake sale.

How do you make the swirls in a chocolate and vanilla marble cake?

There’s no real technique to making the swirls in this loaf cake – you just pour the batter into the cake tin in alternating colours and then swirl a skewer through it. Less is more in this situation – too much and the colours will blur, not enough and the chocolate batter and vanilla cake batter sections will be completely seperate. You need to aim for a lovely mix of cake colours in the finished chocolate and vanilla cake to give that true marbled cake finish to the bake.

We have always made this chocolate cake in a loaf pan but there’s no reason why you couldn’t make it in a bundt pan or a round cake pan for a bit of variety. You could also add chocolate frosting, chocolate buttercream or a chocolate ganache to this cake to add an extra layer of milk chocolate goodness or even drizzle the top with melted chocolate or icing.

What equipment do you need for this easy marble cake recipe?

You can make this recipe simply with things you already have in your kitchen but here are the things we use in case there’s something you don’t already have:

• Loaf tin
• Loaf tin liners
• Mixing bowl
• Scales
• Measuring spoons
• Wooden spoon
• Cake tester
• Wire rack

As you can see, it’s all things you probably have already. We use loaf tin liners to guarantee that bakes come out of the tin easily and they’re great when baking as gifts too.

Here’s our easy Chocolate Vanilla Swirl Cake recipe – Happy Baking!

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 185 g unsalted butter at room temperature
• 230 g caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 280 g self raising flour
• 185 ml milk
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 200c/400f/Gas 6.
• Grease and line the base of a loaf tin. Put the vanilla, butter and sugar in a large bowl and cream until light and fluffy or use a stand mixer. Add the eggs one at a time beating well after each one.
• Sift the flour and fold into the creamed mixture a little at a time, alternating with the milk until it’s all combined.
• Put half the cake mixture into another bowl.
• Add the cocoa powder to one half and mix well.
• Alternate spoonfuls of chocolate batter and vanilla batter into the prepared loaf tin. Cut through the mixture a few times with a skewer to give a marble effect.
• Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Leave in the tin to cool slightly before turning out onto a wire rack.

If you’d like to print or pin the Chocolate Vanilla Swirl Cake recipe for later you can do so below. Enjoy!

Print Pin

Marble Cake recipe

This is our absolute favourite bake at home and the children love to both make it and eat it afterwards. Simple and satisfying to make, it’s always a lovely afternoon tea treat.

Course Afternoon Tea, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine British

Keyword baking, cake, marble cake

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes

Servings 1 loaf cake

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 185 g butter
• 230 g caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 280 g self raising flour
• 185 ml milk
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 200c/400f/Gas 6.
• Grease and line the base of a loaf tin.
• Put the vanilla, butter and sugar in a bowl and cream until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time beating well after each one.
• Sift the flour and fold into the creamed mixture a little at a time, alternating with the milk until it’s all combined.
• Put half the mixture into another bowl.
• Add the cocoa powder to one half and mix well.
• Alternate spoonfuls of each mixture into the prepared loaf tin. Cut through the mixture a few times with a skewer to give a marble effect.
• Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Leave in the tin to cool slightly before turning out onto a wire rack.

*Note: Nutritional information is estimated, based on publicly available data. Nutrient values may vary from those published.