Orange and Black Halloween Marble Cake

This orange and black Halloween marble cake boasts a moist, fluffy texture with the delicious flavors of the Fall (pumpkin, warm spices and chocolate) and matching orange, black and eyeball candy sprinkles for a perfect Halloween treat.

Baked into a single layer loaf cake, this pumpkin and chocolate marble cake is easy to make, easy to decorate, and serves as a perfect addition to your Halloween party.

This orange and black marble cake recipe is adapted from my chocolate and vanilla marble pound cake recipe. I added some pumpkin powder and pumpkin spice to suit the Fall flavors. And instead of using regular cocoa powder, I used black cocoa powder for a natural black cake batter. The bright orange and black colors of the cake, topped with the dripping white glaze and matching orange and black sprinkles and creepy eyeball candy makes this a perfect spooky Halloween marble cake.

If you prefer an all-pumpkin pound cake made with fresh pumpkin puree, you can try out my pumpkin spice pound cake recipe. And for a truly made from scratch cake, you can make your own pumpkin puree with this easy recipe which teaches you 2 easy ways to make the puree without having to roast pumpkins in an oven.

For more spooky Halloween cakes and delicious treats, do check out my full page of Halloween treats including my cute marshmallow ghosts, Jack O Lantern Halloween Pumpkin Cupcakes, witches brew Halloween cake jars and creepy Halloween spider cupcakes.

For the cake:

• Self raising flour + salt + baking powder - combine and sift them together before using. Sifting helps combine the ingredients well and aerate the flour which helps the cake to rise well.
• Butter - should be at room temperature, but not too soft. It should be soft enough to poke your finger in but firm enough to hold its shape. I use salted butter. If using unsalted butter, add an extra small pinch of salt in the recipe.
• Brown sugar - use soft brown sugar. Both light or dark brown sugar will work for this recipe.
• Eggs - use large eggs. For best results, make sure the eggs are at room temperature.
• Black cocoa powder - contributes to the black sections of the cake and is a more natural alternative to food coloring. Sift first before using to break any lumps.
• Pumpkin powder - used to flavor the orange sections of the marble cake. For best results, sift the powder before using to break any lumps.
• Pumpkin pie spice mix - this powder is used to flavor the entire cake, and should be sifted together with the flour mixture.
• Vanilla extract - contributes to the flavor of the cake.
• Milk - keeps the cake moist and soft.
• Black and orange food coloring - to add extra color to the orange and black cake batters. Both liquid and gel food colors will work for this recipe.

For the glaze and decoration:

• Powdered sugar (icing sugar) - sift first before using to break any lumps as powdered sugar tends to be lumpy.
• Water - used in very little quantity. Use filtered or drinking water.
• Orange and black sprinkles and candy eyes

Baking the cake

Step 1: Prepare the cake tin. Use a loaf tin measuring 8 inches by 4 inches and at least 3 inches deep (to avoid the cake batter from overflowing). Brush it with butter or oil and flour it (image 1). You can also line the cake tin with parchment paper.

Step 2: Measure the butter into a large bowl (image 2). Cut into small cubes. Make sure the butter is at room temperature, is soft but still able to hold its shape. If it is too soft, place it in the refrigerator for a few minutes to firm up.

Step 3: Cream the butter until soft and add the brown sugar (image 3) and continue creaming both until light and fluffy for at least 2 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl halfway through (image 4).

Step 4: Add the eggs. Do this one by one (image 5), and each time, beat well into the creamed mixture until all traces of the eggs are no longer visible. Do not overbeat. Scrape the bowl and beat well.

Note: Make sure the eggs are at room temperature to avoid the cake batter from curdling.

Step 5: Prepare the dry ingredients. Measure the flour into a medium bowl, and add the baking powder, salt and pumpkin pie spices into it. Mix all the ingredients with a hand whisk (image 6).

Step 6: Sift in one third of the flour mixture into the creamed butter, sugar and eggs and fold with a spatula (image 7).

Step 7: Pour in half of the milk into the batter and mix well (image 8).

Step 8: Repeat the process with another one third of the flour mixture, followed by the remaining milk and then the last one third portion of the flour mixture. Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl and the spatula and mix well.

Note: The flour is best mixed by hand for a soft cake. You can also use a cake mixer to do this, but use a very low speed and make sure to not overmix. Overmixing can make your cake tough.

Step 9: Add the vanilla extract. Fold it well to make sure it is well distributed (image 9).

Step 10: Prepare the chocolate cake batter. Remove one third of the prepared cake batter into a separate bowl. Sift in the black cocoa powder and mix well (image10).

Rest the batter for 2 to 3 minutes to see the color of the dough as the black color of the cocoa powder will intensify after a few minutes. If it is not sufficiently black, add a few drops of black gel food coloring and mix well (images 11 & 12).

Note: Cocoa powder tend to be lumpy and must be sifted before using or you will end up with specks of cocoa powder lumps in your cake batter.

Step 11: Prepare the pumpkin cake batter. Sift in the pumpkin powder into the remaining batter and mix well. Add a few drops of orange food coloring to intensify the orange color. Mix well (images 13 & 14).

Note: Similar to the cocoa powder, the color from food coloring will intensify after a few minutes. Start with a little food coloring and wait for a few minutes before adding more to avoid adding too much coloring.

Step 12: Transfer the cake batter into the prepared loaf tin. Start with a layer of orange batter. Level it with a spatula (image 15).

Next, drop small spoonfuls of the black batter (image 16).

Repeat with the orange batter (image 17) and more black chocolate batter (image 18) until all the black batter is used up. You can do it up to 3 layers or more.

Top with the remaining orange batter and level it with a spatula (image 19). Use a skewer to cut through the cake batter to create swirls and marble pattern in the batter (image 20). Start with horizontal lines, followed by vertical lines and then diagonal lines.

Step 13: Bake the cake in a preheated oven until a cake tester or wooden skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out without any wet batter. Remove the cake from the oven and let it rest in the cake tin for a few minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack to cool it completely (images 21 and 22).

Note: Keep the cake covered in a kitchen towel while cooling down. This will help keep the cake moist. And as soon as the cake turns warms, wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it until it cools downs completely and ready for the glaze.

Making the sugar glaze and decorating the cake

Step 14: Sift the powdered sugar into a small bowl. Add water and mix well (image 23).

Note: Do not skip sifting the sugar as powdered sugar tends to be lumpy and you will end up with a lumpy glaze.

Step 15: Transfer the glaze into a piping bag (image 24). If you do not have a piping bag, you can also use a Zip lock bag.

Step 16: Place the completely cooled cake on a cake plate or cake board. Snip the tip of the piping bag and drizzle the glaze on the cake, forming drips from the edges of the cake (image 25).

Note: Snip the bag right before piping to avoid the glaze from oozing out.

Step 17: To complete the cake, sprinkle the orange and black sprinkles all over on top of the cake and decorate with candy eyes (image 26).

Note: Placing the cake in a large tray will help collect any sprinkles that fall off the cake as you add them to the cake and avoid them from rolling onto your kitchen floor.

💡Expert tips

• Use room temperature ingredients, particularly the eggs. This is to avoid the cake batter from curdling.
• Cream the butter and sugar well before adding the eggs. Cream for at least 2 minutes on medium speed for a lovely soft and fluffy texture.
• Do not over mix the cake batter. Overmixing will result in a tough cake.
• For a moist texture, do not over bake the cake. Check for doneness at least 5 to 10 minutes before the baking time is up by inserting a skewer in the center of the cake. If there is no wet batter sticking to the skewer, it is done and can be removed from the oven. Overbaking can cause the cake to be dry.
• Add food coloring, at little at a time. Food coloring (including the black cocoa powder) added to the cake batter will intensify when allowed to rest for a few minutes (3 to 4 minutes). Hence, do not add too much food coloring all at once.