Marble Pound Cake Recipe

Marble cakes are cakes with more than 2 colored (or flavored) cake batter mixed into a single cake. These different colored and flavored batters are typically mixed to create pretty swirls in the cake, hence the name, marble cakes.

The marble butter cake recipe on this page is a combination of plain white cake and chocolate cake. Both are vanilla flavored and the baked cake has lovely swirls of chocolate in a plain vanilla cake. I call it a marble butter cake because it is adapted from my butter pound cake recipe. To complete the cake, I frosted it with matching marbled buttercream in simple vanilla and chocolate flavors.

This chocolate-vanilla marble cake is another one of my calculated cake recipes (my other calculated recipes are butter pound cake recipe, chocolate cake recipe, orange cake recipe, and coffee cake recipe).

Using my butter pound cake recipe as the basis, I tweaked it to create both vanilla and chocolate cake batter in the same recipe and used it to create a marble cake that is as soft, rich and delicious as a butter pound cake.

This marble pound cake recipe was also part of my cakes menu when I was running my cake business and so after making this so many times, I have figured out the exact recipe measure for various round and square cake tin sizes which I am gladly sharing on this page for you!

How to Make Marble Cake – Step by Step Guide

Here is my step by step guide to making a marble cake. It’s a fairly easy process, and once you know how it’s done, you can use it to marble your cake in any way you want!

• Start with the plain vanilla batter. Scoop it into your prepared cake tin (well greased and floured or lined) as shown below. Leave some gap between each scoop of batter. 
• Next, drop scoops of chocolate batter in between the vanilla batter earlier as well as on the vanilla cake batter in the middle.

Scoop plain batter into a well greased and floured cake tin

Add chocolate batter scoops in between the plain batter

Continue with plain batter on top of the earlier chocolate batter

And then finish off with the chocolate batter

Cut through the batter with a jam knife or skewer, first horizontally, then vertically

This is how it looks after cutting through the batter

• And that should marble up your cake batter beautifully. In the image below, you can see that I have used my jam knife to push my cake batter from the center of the cake to the sides. This helps in avoiding the cake from doming in the center.
• Bake the cake as usual.

Level the top

Marble pound cake all baked and ready

Marble Pound Cake Recipe – My Recipe Notes

• Well greased and lined cake tins – This is a very important step in baking cakes. Almost all cake recipes require cake tins to be well lined. It can be a matter of sheer frustration when your cake is all so beautifully baked but stuck to the cake tin! I normally apply shortening to my cake tins and then dust them with flour. This is good enough for this marble cake but in doing this, always make sure each and every corner of the cake tin is well greased. Any spot that is left un-greased could result in your cake being stuck at that spot, and when you invert your cake onto your wire rack for cooling, nothing can be more annoying that see part of your cake stuck to the cake tin causing an ugly dent in your cake. So this step is really worth paying attention to. You can also line your cake tins with grease and parchment paper, the choice is up to you so long as your cake tins are well prepared. You can see the many ways of lining cake tins in my post here.
• Accurately measured ingredients – the main ingredients for this marble pound cake recipe are self-raising flour, sugar, butter, eggs and cocoa powder. To these I add baking powder, vanilla essence and milk to help with the aroma, texture and size of the cake. As in any other chocolate cakes, though the chocolate batter forms only part of this cake, it is important to use good quality cocoa powder for the best results. The other important ingredient in this cake, just like all my other cakes is the butter. Butter imparts a very rich taste which makes this cake taste so good so it is worth the cost to use good quality butter. I prefer to use salted butter in all my cake recipe and so the butter indicated in this recipe is also salted butter. Because of this, you will notice that the amount of salt I add separately to the cake batter is rather little. If you prefer to use unsalted butter, it is perfectly ok, but just be sure to increase the amount of salt in the cake batter. The other important factor when it comes to the ingredients in the cake is their measurement. Accuracy is very important for best results and I would strongly recommend using a kitchen scale, either a digital or mechanical one instead of cups as I find ingredients measured by cups to vary each time leading to inconsistent results.

• Cream the butter and sugar well and fold in the flour – this cake is made using the creaming method, which means the butter and sugar are beaten until they turn light and fluffy. For best results, you need to cream the butter and sugar for at least 2 minutes for the recipe measurement given above. Larger cakes will take a longer time. Well creamed cakes will be soft and fluffy so this is a step you need to pay attention to. The other point to remember is to fold in the flour into the batter rather than beating it in. And always do it in small portions, at least in 3 parts (for small cakes) up to about 4 to 6 times (for larger cakes). This typically means you divide your flour into 3 portions, and the milk into two. You don’t have to literally portion it by using different containers, suffice if you just eyeball it. So you fold in the first portion of the flour, and then add the first portion of the milk. Once well combined, you add in the second portion of the flour, followed by the second portion of the milk and then end it with the 3rd portion of the flour. It may not be practical to fold the flour by hand for large cakes, and if you prefer to use a cake mixer, make sure it is at its utmost minimum speed and you do not mix the batter too long. Suffice if the flour and milk is all incorporated.
• Adding cocoa powder to the cake batter – there are 2 ways in which you can add cocoa powder to the cake batter in this recipe. The first method is by mixing the cocoa powder with milk and folding it into the portioned cake batter. This is the method I have used for this cake. The other method is to add the cocoa powder directly into the cake batter and then adding the milk in separately after that. If you are to do this, make it a point to sift the cocoa powder in to the cake batter. Cocoa powder tends to be lumpy and if you add it directly without sifting, you can end up with tiny lumps of cocoa powder in your batter that is hard to break by just mixing it with a spatula.
• Constantly scrap the sides of your mixing bowl – when mixing the batter, right from the point where you cream your butter and sugar, always scrap the sides of your bowl frequently. This will ensure the ingredients are well mixed and your cake batter is all smooth and even.
• Butter and eggs should be at room temperature – sometimes, the creamed butter and sugar mixture tend to curdle with the addition of eggs. Even after beating it really long, it will remain curdled. This happens when the butter and eggs are at different temperatures. If either the eggs or the butter is cold, your cake batter will tend to curdle. If both are of the same temperature, this is unlikely to happen, however, since butter needs to be softened at room temperature to cream it properly, curdling will tend to happen when the eggs are cold. To prevent this, make sure your eggs are also at room temperature. If at all your batter still curdles, do not worry. Add some flour and mix until it is no longer curdled and bake your cake as usual.
• If you wish to double or triple this marble pound cake recipe, it is best that you following the tin size guide I have provided with the recipe. Each calculated marble pound cake recipe produces 2 layers of cake that measure approximately 2 inches high each. Too much batter in a small cake tin can give you taller cake layers, but it is likely that the cakes will be a little dry on the sides as you would need to bake them longer to get the centers to bake properly. So, if you want taller cakes, it is best to bake them in a few tins and sandwich the layers together. Also, if you intend to make cakes larger than 10 inches in diameter, it is highly advisable to use cake strips or a heating core. These will prevent the cakes sides from drying out due to longer baking time for larger cakes. See my post here on how to achieve leveled cakes to learn more about using cake strips and heating cores.
• Don’t over bake the cakes – Just like any other cakes, the baking time plays a very important role in the taste and texture of this cake. Baking the cake for too long can result is a dry cake and under baking can cause the cake to sink. When placing in the oven, always put the cakes on the 3^rd rack. This helps prevent the top of the cake from browning too much. Check if the cake is done at least 5 to 10 minutes before the baking time is up by inserting a long skewer in the center of the cake. If the skewer comes out without any wet batter sticking to it, the cake is done and can be removed from oven. Ideally, there should be soft cake crumbs sticking to your skewer. If the skewer comes out totally clean, the cake could have been overly cooked. Also, when the cake is done, the sides will pull away from the tin.
• Storing the marble pound cake – This cake can be served on the very same day it is baked, even while it is still warm (without any frosting). It is also equally good when baked in advance and stored in the fridge until it is ready for use, within one week. To store the cake in the fridge, once it is baked and has cooled down slightly, wrap it tightly with cling wrap and refrigerate. Wrapping the cake while it is still warm locks and distributes the moisture in the cake making in soft and moist after refrigeration. When you need to use it, remove the cake from the fridge and with the cling wrap still intact, let it warm up to room temperature. Remove the wrapping only after the cake has reached room temperature to prevent condensation on the cake which can reduce its shelf life. Leftovers of this cake can be stored at room temperature for a good 4 to 5 days provided it is handled without any moisture. Always ensure the knife used to cut the cake is all dry and the container you intend to store the cake has no traces of water in it. The leftovers can last up to one week if refrigerated. If you wish to use this cake for carving, the cake is best left to rest for at least one day after baking for the texture to stabilize for easy carving with less crumbs.

Marble Pound Cake Recipe

Here is the printable version of my marble pound cake recipe and while you are at it, don’t miss my step by step guide on how to make marble cake as well as my important notes for this marble pound cake recipe right below. They contain absolutely useful tips for the best marble pound cake ever!

Marble Pound Cake

This marble pound cake recipe has the best combination of the soft and delicious vanilla pound cake and dark rich chocolate cake in pretty swirls that are not only pleasing to the taste buds but also the eyes. What is more, the recipe comes with calculated ingredients for various tin sizes.

0 from 0 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Marble Pound Cake

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes

Author: Priya Maha

Metric – US Customary

Ingredients

• 360 g self raising flour
• 360 g castor sugar
• 360 g butter at room temperature
• 6 eggs at room temperature
• 100 ml milk
• 15 g cocoa powder
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¾ tsp baking powder

Metric – US Customary

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 170 °Celsius.
• Mix cocoa powder with ¼ of the milk and leave aside.
• In a separate bowl, beat butter and sugar till soft and creamy.
• Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• In another separate bowl, sift flour, baking powder and salt. Fold in the sifted ingredients into the creamed mixture alternately with milk, starting and ending with flour.
• Finally add in vanilla essence and combine well.
• Transfer ⅓ of the batter into a separate bowl and add the milk-cocoa mixture to it. Mix well.
• Scoop the plain batter and chocolate batter alternately into 2 equal sized, well greased and floured cake tins.
• Bake the cakes for approximately 45 to 50 minutes until the top of the cake springs back when lightly pressed. The cakes are done when a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out without any wet batter.
• Remove cakes from oven and let them cool completely before frosting and decorating.
• Baking time may vary slightly for larger cakes.

Notes

Calculated Tin Sizes

9 inches round/ 8 inches square (makes 2 layers of 2 inch high cakes)

• 600 g butter
• 600 g castor sugar
• 550 g self-raising flour
• 10 eggs
• 25 g cocoa powder
• 150 ml milk
• 1 ⅔ tsp vanilla essence
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 ¼ tsp baking powder

 

11 inches round/ 10 inches square (makes 2 layers of 2 inch high cakes)

• 840 g butter
• 840 g castor sugar
• 840 g self-raising flour
• 14 eggs
• 35 g cocoa powder
• 220 ml milk
• 2 ⅓ tsp vanilla essence
• ¾ tsp salt
• 1 ¾ tsp baking powder

 

13 inches round/ 12 inches square (makes 2 layers of 2 inch high cakes)

• 1200 g butter
• 1200 g castor sugar
• 1200 g self-raising flour
• 20 eggs
• 50 g cocoa powder
• 330 ml milk
• 3 ⅓ tsp vanilla essence
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 ½ tsp baking powder

Note: Larger cakes may take a longer time to bake.

Nutrition

Calories: 5760kcal | Carbohydrates: 638g | Protein: 85g | Fat: 328g | Saturated Fat: 197g | Cholesterol: 1766mg | Sodium: 3902mg | Potassium: 1171mg | Fiber: 14g | Sugar: 367g | Vitamin A: 10584IU | Calcium: 597mg | Iron: 10mg

And that is pretty much all I have for you on my marble pound cake recipe.  Happy baking 🙂