The idea of marbling two different colored batters into a cake originated in nineteenth century Germany. Marble cakes made their way to America with German immigrants before the Civil War. Originally the cakes were marbled with molasses and spices. One of the first recorded recipes for marble cake appears in an American cookbook called Aunt Babette’s Cook Book: Foreign and Domestic Receipts for the Household, published in 1889. This recipe replaced the traditional molasses and spice batter by marbling melted chocolate into the cake, a reflection of a new American obsession with chocolate. The cake remained popular throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. According to the Encyclopedia of Jewish Food by Gil Marks, “Many Jewish bakeries in the New York area in the 1950’s through the 1970’s would distinctively add a small amount of almond extract to the chocolate marble cake, creating a version sometimes referred to as a ‘German Marble Cake’ that had a characteristic almond aroma.”
What do you need to make marble cake?
This is my recipe for marble cake, which has become a family favorite over the past few years. I flavor my marble cake with almond extract as a nod to the classic German Jewish recipes. It’s a fairly simple recipe. All you need for this traditional version is vanilla cake batter, chocolate cake batter, a mixing bowl (no need for separate bowls – I have a trick for avoiding extra dishes), and a loaf pan!
How do you make a marble cake from scratch moist?
In a slightly modern twist, I add dry instant vanilla pudding mix to my batter. This little trick is a fantastic way to add moisture and flavor to your cakes; it also helps to thicken the batter, which provides the perfect texture for marbling. Be sure to use instant pudding mix, not cook-and-serve; just sift the dry mix in with the dry ingredients. It creates a wonderful texture and locks in moisture so the cake doesn’t dry out as quickly. It also gives a lovely vanilla essence to the batter, which blends nicely with the almond extract. They certainly weren’t doing it this way in Germany 150 years ago, but sometimes it’s fun to improve on tradition. Try it!
For instructions on how to marble a cake, click here.
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Marble Cake
Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups cake flour
- 1/2 cup dry instant vanilla pudding mix (about one small 3.4 oz package)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract
- 3/4 cup milk, room temperature
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/3 cup very hot water
NOTES
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the cake flour, vanilla pudding mix (in dry powdered form), baking powder, and salt.
- In a larger mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to whip together the butter, sugar, eggs and almond extract for a few minutes till the mixture turns light yellow.
- Beat in half of the milk and half of the sifted flour mixture, then beat in the remaining milk and flour mixture. Whip until the batter is smooth and creamy and be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Rinse and dry the medium mixing bowl that you used for the sifted flour; you’ll need it again soon. In a small bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder and 1/3 cup of very hot water till smooth.
- Pour a little less than half of the cake batter into the medium mixing bowl that you rinsed out. Whisk in the cocoa powder/water mixture till fully combined and smooth. This is your chocolate marbling batter.Reserve the rest of the batter—this is your light cake marbling batter.
- Generously grease your loaf pan using butter or cooking spray. Pour the light and dark cake batters into your loaf pan and marble them. If you don't know how, check out this post with printable instructions: How to Marble a Cake
- Bake the marble cake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes.
- Carefully remove the cake from the pan and let it cool completely on the rack.This cake will keep at room temperature for 3-4 days; wrap in plastic wrap or foil to seal in the moisture.
Nutrition
tried this recipe?
Let us know in the comments!
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This Marble pound cake is amazing. I baked it in an 8 inch loaf pan for 55 minutes. I used 1/2 cup of the instant French vanilla pudding. It rose and cracked beautifully on top and was moist and delicious 🙂 definitely going in my recipe box 🙂 I wish I could post a pic . Thanks for this recipe
This marble cake is the best I’ve ever tasted. It is so moist and delicious it doesn’t need icing. Love it!! My only issue is the cake is too small. How would I modify the recipe for a 9 X 13 inch dish?
Glad you’re enjoying it! I haven’t tested it, but my best guess is you can probably just double this one for a larger pan.
Can I use all purpose flour instead of cake flour?
Yes.
This has become my go-to pareve cake recipe, using pareve margarine instead of butter. We use whatever non-dairy milk we have in the fridge, including relatively thin no-sugar-added almond milk, without any negative effects. One of my favourite things to do is skip the marbling and stir in a Tbsp or two of my favourite instant coffee right before baking (so the coffee doesn’t fully dissolve before baking).
With an easy streusel on top, this makes a really nice coffee-flavoured coffee cake.
Thanks!
I have made this recipe several times. The first time I made it, I used the whole small package of vanilla putting mix. Cake came out good. The next time I measured out a half a cup and it came out perfect! Do you recommend Hershey’s natural chocolate or Dutch process chocolate?
I have made this a number of times now and it’s my go-to marble cake — PLUS, I learned how to do proper marbling from you, thanks!!
I make it pareve using a mixture of whatever pareve margarines / coconut oil / healthier non-dairy marg I happen to have on hand (don’t like all butter-flavoured, it’s too intensely artificial-tasting). I also use whatever nondairy milk we have on hand, usually unsweetened almond, and have never had a problem of the batter being too thin or the cake not setting properly.
Coffee-flavoured cake variation: When I want a nice moist pareve cake but don’t want to bother with the marbling, I stir in 1 Tbsp. of good-quality instant coffee granules to the finished mixture. Let it sit for a minute or two so they start to soften, then stir again gently with a silicone spatula. The granules never completely melt during baking, leaving an interesting texture. Sprinkle with (cinnamony if desired) streusel topping and bake. We call this “coffee-flavoured cake” because most so-called coffee cakes don’t have any actual coffee in them!
Thanks for sharing your modifications Tzivia! I know they’ll be helpful for others.
Your marble cake reminds me of the marble cake my grandparents would buy for us in Brooklyn in the 60’s. My husband, who grew up in N.J., said his mother made a mint flavored marble cake. Do you think I could make your recipe substituting mint extract for the almond extract>
Yes! That would be lovely, I think.
I have a question- I only recently found out that using a dark pan cooks too fast and I should lower by 10* ! I also read 25 is suggested. I find doing this takes longer to bake and the sides and tops still come out very dark. Before I make this cake- what do you suggest? Thankyou
If the top is coming out too dark, you can check it towards the end of baking. When the top is browned to your liking, cover with a piece of foil – this will help to stop the browning process and keep it from getting too dark.
I am wondering how this recipe would work in cupcakes. Has anyone tried for cupcakes?
Would I double the recipe to make this in a Bundt pan? Or, how would I adapt the recipe?
I’m making this recipe for Christmas. Instead of using one big loaf pan, can I use a small nutcracker pan with 6 cavities?
Can you use Almond Flour or Coconut Flour instead of Cake Flour?
I do not recommend that.
Hi! I need to make a full sheet cake with this recipe. Should I triple this recipe for a full sheet?
Thank you!
hi, wondering what size in width and depth this should be. It says 8- or 9-inch loaf pan but that only is part of the size… thanks
Hi Lisa, Tori’s assistant Ashley here. An 8×4 or 9×5 inch loaf pan would work for this recipe. 🙂
Could I double the recipe for a 9X13″ cake?
I think that should work fine.
I love this cake. I’m thinking of maybe subbing the almond extract for vanilla extract instead. The almond was a bit to strong for us. Would that be okay? Other wise I loved the recipe and thank you for sharing.
Hi Autumn, Tori’s assistant Ashley here. That would be fine. Flavored extracts can always be used interchangeably as they only change the taste.