This wonderful moist Marble Loaf cake (Pound cake) is the perfect elegant yet easy teacake to serve for breakfast, or as a dessert! My "Better than Starbucks Marble cake" consists of fluffy and delicious swirl of Vanilla and Chocolate cake covered with a 3 ingredients crunchy chocolate hazelnut glaze!
Making this Chocolate Marble Loaf cake is super easy, and my step by step tutorial will take you through on all the necessary information and tips you must know to succeed. Let´s get started!
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What is Marble cake
A marble cake is a type of cake with a streaked or mottled appearance (like a marble) achieved by gently mixing the light and dark cake batter together. It can be a mixture of vanilla and chocolate cake, or any other distinctive colors eg. matcha with vanilla batter cake, strawberry with chocolate cake batter etc.
My Marble cake recipe can be made in a Loaf tin, or in a classic Cake tin or you can even turn it into a Bundt cake, whatever you fancy!
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While making Marble cake the key is to mix the two different cake batters just enough to achieve the marble effect, but not too much, which way one would blend into the other. To make your life eaiser, my Marble Pound cake recipe ingredients provide a relatively thick cake batter so the two colors can be comfortable mixed without blending them together fully.
Why this is the best recipe
- It is extremely easy – You won´t need any fancy ingredients to make Marble cake. The recipe comes together really easily, a totally doable from scratch. Both the mixing process, as well as the baking process is very simple, even for beginners. The one part you need to particularly pay attention to is glazing; concretely pouring the glaze on the right temperature so it is not too runny, neither too thick. I will teach you how to make it, keep reading
- It is super quick – I do not overcomplicate anything in this recipe! My Marble Loaf cake recipe is not just easy, but quick as well, all you need to do is mixing the ingredients, bake and enjoy. The recipe is the perfect choice if you want something quick and impressive that is literally ready in about 1-2 hours, most of if is actually waiting
- It is super delicious – I never compromise on taste! This cake is super moist, I am mean look at this crumb, it is crazy moist! Vanilla and chocolate flavours perfectly bond together in perfect velvety crumb, while the chocolate glaze with hazelnut is bringing some crunchiness. There is a good reason why I call it "Better than Starbucks Marble loaf cake"
- No special equipment is needed – All you need is a Loaf tin that you probably already have at home and you are good to go! However, if you do not own a loaf tin, this cake can be made in any cake tin, really
- It is super versatile – The Marble loaf recipe can be made using different spices eg. Orange zest can be a great idea to spice up your Loaf cake, I can almost smell it as I am writing about it! Or, add some good quality chocolate chips and turn this into a Chocolate chips Marble cake! Feel free to experiment!
Ingredient notes
For the Marble cake batter
- Butter: Use always unsalted butter as you want to be in control of the quantity of the salt. I am using 82% fat content butter in all my recipes. In this Marble Loaf cake recipe butter needs to be soft, on room temperature to be able to properly cream it with the sugar. The correct temperature of the butter is actually very important when it comes to emulsifying the ingredients, so make sure it is not cold, and also avoid last minute microwaving
- Sugar: Simple granulated sugar works fine in this recipe. If you want to learn about the different types of sugar and how to use them in baking, please read my article in here
- Greek/ Turkish style yogurt: Thick, full fat Greek or Turkish style yogurt will make the texture of the Marble Pound cake super moist and light. Again, very important that you bring the yogurt to room temperature as cold yogurt won´t properly mix in with the rest of the ingredients
- Egg: Room temperature as always so the ingredients can perfectly emulsify
- Flour: I am using pasty flour in this Marble loaf cake recipe, but all purpose flour works too, they are so called “soft flour” which are low on protein resulting in delicate, tender cake texture. If you want to be a Pro when it comes to deciding what type of flour to use in your baking, please read my article in here
- Baking powder: Makes the Marble cake tender and helps the rise
- Salt: We always need at least a large pinch of salt in any cake batter to balance the flavours
- Cocoa powder: Generally always use unsweetened, 100% cocoa powder in baking. I am using a so called "dutched processed" cocoa powder that is lower in acidity and has a lovely dark colour. The cocoa powder is used for the chocolate batter part of the Marble cake recipe, it provides a super delicious chocolate taste
Exact Ingredient quantities can be found in the RECIPE CARD, at the bottom of this page.
There is also a syrup stage involved after baking the cake, I do recommend not skipping it. The syrup is made of equal amount of sugar and water boiled until syrupy, then you have to pour it over the hot cake. Simple syrup like this will make the Marble loaf cake even more moist and delicious!
For the glaze
- Chocolate: This Marble cake loaf is glazed with a super easy chocolate glaze. Use semi-sweet chocolate, the best quality you can access that does not size during melting and leave a beautiful shine. The one I am using is Callebaut Dark Chocolate (callets). In general, avoid cheap "baking chocolates" with low cocoa butter content whenever you bake
- Oil: vegetable oil works well here
- Hazelnut: Taking a few minutes to toast hazelnuts make the flavour to a whole new level. After that, pulse blend it or chop it by hand using a sharp knife. Alternatively, purchase roasted chopped hazelnut, or you can skip the hazelnut
Exact Ingredient quantities can be found in the RECIPE CARD, at the bottom of this page.
3 Expert tips regarding the technique
1. How to make crazy moist Marble Loaf cake
This Marble Cake loaf recipe is the most amazing moist, fluffy loaf cake with velvety crumb, incredible delicious. It is also easy to prepare, key is not to overwork the batter. You will have to prepare the wet ingredients first, then divide into two. Then, you will mix in flour into one of them, and the flour and cocoa powder into the other.
Let´s see step by step:
- Prepare your Loaf pan. Make sure you either use place parchment paper inside the tin or butter and flour it properly. The quantity stated in the recipe makes up a loaf tin that is 9x19cm / 3,5x7,5 inches
- Preheat oven to 175 C / 347 F. Use a Digital oven thermometer so you are aware of the your real oven temp
- Ingredients must be all measures with a Digital scale
- Eggs and all other ingredients (yogurt, butter etc. ) must be on room temperature
- In a bowl beat sugar with room temperature, soft butter with an Electric hand mixer (or stand mixer) for few minutes until fluffy
- Whisk egg in a separate bowl then slowly mix in while your Electric hand mixer is on. Important that your egg is on room temperature and that you mix in the egg slowly, so it the cake batter won´t break
- Add yogurt in and mix in vanilla
- Sift the dry ingredients for the vanilla part together (flour, baking powder, salt)
- Sift the dry ingredients for the chocolate part together into a different bowl (flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt)
- Divide the wet ingredients into two, a Digital scale is super handy
- Dry ingredients must be folded in by hand (using Rubber spatula). Do not use a mixer at this point
- Prepare the vanilla cake butter by gently folding the flour, baking powder, salt mixture into one of the wet ingredients. Fill a piping bag with your vanilla cake batter and set it aside
- Prepare the chocolate batter by gently folding the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt mixture into the other wet ingredients. Fill a piping bag with your chocolate cake batter
- Pipe the cake batters into your prepared Loaf tin by alternating between the vanilla and chocolate cake batter
- To create the marble effect, gently mix the two batters together in the follow way: grab a knife and make some zigzag movement in the pan. Make sure that you do not over mix the cake batters, or they might melt together
- Pro tip: On top of the cake apply a very thin butter line (with the help of a pastry bag)– this will help the Loaf cake to open up nicely and evenly instead of breaking in a random way. You can apply this trick on all your Loaf cakes!
As you can see the mixing process of this super moist Marble Loaf recipe is easy and quick. The secret behind making it crazy moist is using 1. the right, high quality ingredients 2. on the right temperature (everything room temp) 3. with the right mixing technique!
2. How to bake
First of all never bake any cake without properly pre-heating your oven first, so start with that before even preparing the cake batter. This Marble Loaf cake will be baked at 175 C / 347 F. Preheat the oven +20C / 68F as the home ovens temperature drop when you open the door. Always use Digital oven thermometer to avoid over baked crumbly or under baked cakes.
Each oven is different so you might need to adjust the time slightly but in my oven I bake the Marble Pound cake for 45 minutes. It is ready when the cake has a nice rise and when toothpick inserted, it comes out clean. Make sure that the middle part is not raw when doing the toothpick test.
Towards the end of the baking time, make the syrup. Boil water and sugar until slightly thickens and reaches syrup consistency. This will take about 3-5 minutes. Once syrup is ready, pour it over the ready baked hot cake and let it sink for a few minutes. You might want to pour the syrup in 2-3 stages depending on how quickly it sinks in.
After syrup sank in and cake slightly cools, remove it from the pan. Let it fully cool on a cooling rack then move it to the fridge and let it completely cool in an hour or two.
Very important that you only start glazing the Marble Loaf once it is nicely chilled.
3. How to glaze
Glazing it totally optional but really takes this Marble Pound cake to the next level both in terms of texture (extra crunchiness), also the flavour (chocolate & hazelnut)!
- Place Callebaut Dark Chocolate (callets) or your chosen finely chopped high quality chocolate into a bowl, melt in microwave stirring every 30 seconds
- When chocolate is melted (temp reached about 45C-50C / 113F - 122F in case of dark chocolate) mix in oil, heat the mixture up again to 45C / 113F then cool it down to about 25C / 77F by stirring
- By heating and cooling the chocolate effectively you temper it, I am using my favourite Infrared thermometer gun to measure chocolate temperature
- Finally, mix in roasted chopped hazelnut
Glazing this Marble Pound cake is all about the finding the right (temperature) moment to pour chocolate glaze over the cake. Make sure that your cake is cold (5C / 41F fridge temp) so the glaze can quickly set instead of running it through. Glaze must be not too thin, neither not too thick, about 25C / 77F is the ideal temperature.
Once you are happy with the consistency of the glaze and it is not too runny, but still runny enough to glaze the cake, pour glazing over cold Marble Loaf cake. Glazing should set in less than a minute.
Equipment notes
First and foremost make sure you measure the ingredients with the help of a Digital scale. Cup measurement is highly inaccurate and can cause all sorts of baking disappointments.
For mixing egg and sugar I suggest to use an Electric hand mixer then switch to a Rubber spatula when incorporating the dry ingredients.
For baking the Marble Pound cake you will need a Loaf pan, the quantity stated in the recipe makes a loaf tin that is 9x19cm / 3,5x7,5 inches. Make sure you apply appropriate cake pan preparation as you can see on my picture below.
Finally, for the chocolate glaze it is rather important that you are aware of the temperatures. I own a wonderful pro baking equipment: Infrared thermometer gun that I absolutely love! It is the most accurate and convenient way to check temperature whether I am making curd, cream or tempering chocolate! My husband loves it too, he measures everything with this ! You can also measure temp with other kinds of thermometers, choose according to your preference.
Recipe FAQs
Yes, you can, however you will need to adjust the ingredient quantities and baking time accordingly. Having said that, the larger the cake the riskier that it won´t bake throughout, so you have to pay extra attention to the correct oven temperature and applying the toothpick check
Most probably yes, you can, however you can´t just leave out / change an ingredient without reformulating the entire recipe. When one ingredient changes, some other ingredients need to be changed too in order to keep the balance in the texture and flavour. Sadly, I am not able to provide substitutes for all sort of allergies and diets.
Thick, high fat Yogurt makes the Marble Pound cake super moist and light. Possible you can replace it with equal amount of sour cream
Few reasons can cause dry, crumbly texture on your cake 1. ingredients not measured correctly eg. too much flour added to the mixture 2. inappropriate mixing technique eg. over mixed cake batter 3. over baked, meaning it dried out too much. Consider investing into an inexpensive Digital oven thermometer to be able to measure the correct oven temperature and please make sure to use a Digital scale during baking, cups are not accurate way of measuring for consistent results. Also, make sure that you do not skip the soaking syrup stage
Probably the loaf would have needed more baking time. Either, it was taken out of the oven too soon or perhaps your oven under heat. Consider investing into an inexpensive Digital oven thermometer if you tend to struggle with the baking part of your desserts.
Other issue that can cause raw texture is measuring the ingredients inappropriate eg. adding less flour to the recipe. Consider using a Digital scale
Once the cake is baked, let it cool before applying the chocolate glazing. Any leftover cake can be stored in an air-tight container either on room temperature or in the fridge for 3-4 days. I suggest you cover the dessert so it does not absorb any smell from the fridge, or from the kitchen. Let it come back to room temperature before serving
You can totally freeze this Marble Loaf, however I suggest to glaze it only after thawing.
The Marble Loaf is extremely delicious on its own, no need to serve it with anything. The flavours and textures will leave a wonderful experience. However, you can serve it with a nice cup of tea or coffee, or perhaps with jam on top
Other Loaf cake recipes
Pumpkin bread with cream cheese frosting - Fluffy Pumpkin Loaf infused with aromatic Fall spices you love and frosted with an easy, 3 ingredients cream cheese icing that is very well balanced in sweetness (also made without butter!). Recipe in here
Cranberry Orange Bread (VIDEO) - Moist & delicious Cranberry Orange Bread recipe with Orange glaze and a wonderful festive decoration is the ultimate holiday favorite! Loaded with aromatic orange zest and tart cranberries this loaf cake can be the perfect easy breakfast or dessert during the holidays. Recipe in here
Lemon meringue Loaf - Well, if you like Lemon drizzle cake, you will love this Lemon meringue loaf cake recipe with an extra meringue topping! Super moist citrusy & sweet Pound cake! Recipe in here
Poached Pear Cardamom Pound cake - Cinnamon and orange zest infused poached pears in a simply yet super delicious Pound cake that is packed with vanilla and cardamon. The ultimate, easy fall recipe in here
Mojito Loaf cake - Moist vanilla Pound cake with aromatic lime zest, drizzled with a super delicious lime, mint and rum syrup and decorated with crunchy white chocolate. Recipe in here
RECIPE CARD
Perfect Marble Loaf cake
Equipment
Ingredients
For the Marble loaf
- 160 g Unsalted butter room temperature soft
- 160 g Granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 3 Eggs room temperature
- 60 g Greek Yogurt room temperature
- 105 g Flour for the vanilla part
- ¾ teaspoon Baking powder for the vanilla part
- ¼ teaspoon Salt for the vanilla part
- 80 g Flour for the chocolate part
- 25 g Cocoa powder unsweetened, for the chocolate part
- ¾ teaspoon Baking powder for the chocolate part
- ¼ teaspoon Salt for the chocolate part
For the syrup
- 70 g Water
- 70 g Granulated sugar
For the glaze (optional)
- 250 g Callebaut Dark Chocolate (callets) good quality semi-sweet chocolate
- 38 g Vegetable oil
- 30 g Hazelnut roasted, chopped
US customary cup measurement is an indicative figure only. Measure the ingredients with a digital scale by weight (gram). Baking is art but also science which requires precision and accuracy.
Instructions
- Prepare your Loaf pan Whisk egg in a separate bowl then slowly mix in while your Electric hand mixer is on.
- Preheat oven to 175 C / 347 F
- In a bowl beat sugar with room temperature, soft butter with an Electric hand mixer (or stand mixer) for few minutes until fluffy
- Mix in egg, small amount at a time, and whip the mixture for another minute
- Add yogurt in and mix in vanilla
- Sift the dry ingredients for the chocolate part together into a different bowl (flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt)
- Divide the wet ingredients into two and Prepare the vanilla cake butter by gently folding the flour, baking powder, salt mixture into one of the wet ingredients.
- Prepare the chocolate batter by gently folding the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt mixture into the other wet ingredients.
- Fill a piping bag with your chocolate cake batter, another one with your vanilla cake batter and pipe the cake batters into your prepared Loaf tin by alternating between the vanilla and chocolate cake batter
- To create the marble effect grab a knife and make some zigzag movement in the pan. Make sure that you do not over mix the cake batters, or they might melt together
- On top of the cake apply a very thin butter line (with the help of a pastry bag)– this will help the Loaf cake to open up nicely and evenly
- Bake for 45 min or until skewer inserted comes out clean
- Towards the end of the baking time make the syrup: boil water and sugar in a saucepan until slightly thickens and reaches syrup consistency
- Once loaf is baked, pour the warm syrup over in a few stages, this is the drizzle stage. The syrup will sink in. Let the cake cool few minutes in the tin and move it onto a cooling rack.
- Chill the cake 1h in the fridge before glazing (or 15 minutes in the freezer)
Chocolate glaze
- Place Callebaut Dark Chocolate (callets) or your chosen finely chopped high quality chocolate into a bowl, melt in microwave stirring every 30 seconds
- When chocolate is melted (temp reached 45C-50C / 45C-50C / 113F - 122F) mix in oil, heat the mixture up again to 45C / 113F then cool it down to about 25C / 77F by stirring
- Mix in hazelnut
- When glaze on right temperature (25C / 77F) pour it over the chilled cake, then pop it back to the fridge for a minute, the glaze will set quickly
- Store your Marble Loaf for 2-3 days either on room temperature or in the fridge in air-tight container
Notes
Notes
- All ingredients must be on room temperature to properly emulsify: eggs, yogurt puree etc.
- Try using the best quality ingredients; 82% butter, high quality chocolate, unsweetened dark cocoa powder, pure vanilla extract for the best texture and taste. Do not skip salt that will balance the sweetness of this cake
- Digital scale is required for consistent, happy baking experience:)
- Do not overwork the cake batter, after the wet ingredients whipped up, switch to a rubber spatula to incorporate the dry ingredients
- While mixing the chocolate and vanilla cake batter make sure you do not over mix it to a stage that they melt together during baking
- On top of the cake batter before baking apply a very thin butter line – this will help the Loaf cake to open up nicely and evenly instead of breaking in a random way in the oven
- Use parchment paper in your Loaf tin or butter and flour it so the cake can easily be removed after baking
- Do not skip the syrup, it will make your Loaf extra moist
- Always pre-heat your oven and consider using a digital oven thermometer for the best results
- Baking this Marble Loaf cake takes 45 minutes in my oven however focus on the texture, not the time. Apply the toothpick check (it should come out clean) to avoid raw cake
- While making the chocolate glaze pay attention the the temperature of the glaze, the ideal temperature is 25C / 77F. Too hot=thin? It will run through the Loaf without properly coating it. Too cold=thick? It will coat in a "wrinkly" way.
- Only glaze chilled loaf, never glaze warm loaf
Sirpek
This cake turned out wonderful thanks to you baking tips! What a wonderful blog, I love all your recipes 🙂
Sarah Alsulaiman
The best marble cake I have ever made..nice texture and a yumy flavor.
Thanks
Ghazal Shams
THE BEST recipe for a beautiful marble cake! Loved everything about it. Katalin’s measurements and tips are just so to the point. Would absolutely recommend this anyone who wants to make a quick, yet impressive, cake.