When you love yourself some good old classic vanilla cake or a rich decadent chocolate cake and choosing one out of the two becomes tougher than Sophie’s choice, marble cakes come to the rescue. A marble cake is literally the best of both worlds – classic buttery vanilla and rich and moist chocolate cake, swirled together to make one cake! Who wouldn’t love that?
From adults to kids, marble cake has a place in everyone’s heart. I have grown up eating spongy, buttery and moist marble cakes and I would be lying if I said they are not my absolute favourite! I can never have enough of the classic marble tea cake.
Marble cake is actually just as easy as any other sponge cake and requires making a single vanilla sponge cake batter, half of which we separate and add cocoa powder to. It is such an easy recipe and makes the most delightful buttery sponge cake. It is perfect for birthdays or special occasions.
Bundt pans can instantly transform any plain cake into something spectacular, and that is why I love baking with them so much. While baking a marble cake in a Bundt pan, you don’t even need a skewer or anything to make swirls around the cake to give it a marble effect. Because of its unique shape, just a tap on the counter after pouring the batter into it, the Bundt mound will give the cake the most beautiful marble effect. It may look like this Marble Bundt Cake has a lot of ingredients or steps, but it’s actually very easy and most (if not all) of the ingredients are things you have on hand.
Baking is really all about perfect measurements and techniques. Let’s talk about some of the ingredients and some significant points to keep in mind while baking this Marble Bundt Cake.
Ingredients in This Marble Bundt Cake
-Butter
Butter is one of the key ingredients in this mixture. It is vital to use good quality butter because it contributes the maximum flavour in the recipe. The buttery flavour complements the rich chocolaty taste so beautifully. It is also extremely important to use softened butter, i.e. butter at room temperature – when you make an impression on the butter, it should hold its position. That is the perfect consistency of the butter to use while baking any sponge cake – neither too hard nor too runny. It will also be easier to cream the butter with sugar incorporating the maximum air if the consistency is perfect. The cake will rise higher if more air is trapped, and yields a softer and fluffy texture. This process depends on a few factors:
- The softness of the butter. The softer the butter, the easier air will be trapped in the butter-sugar mixture.
- It is extremely important to add the sugar in batches. This allows the sugar to dissolve completely in the butter. For this recipe I am using granulated white sugar. However, you can swap it with castor sugar.
- The speed of mixing. Use medium to high speed to mix the butter and sugar yields a smoother and lighter buttercream.
Signs to know if the buttercream is ready:
- The colour of the butter turns from the initial bright to light yellow and fluffy.
- It looks like soft ice cream.
- There is no more visible sugar granule in the mixture.
-Eggs
Eggs act as a binding agent in cakes. They also provide moisture and help the cake retain its shape. It’s the balance between eggs and flour that help provide the height and texture of any cake. I recommend adding eggs one at a time and beat them with the buttercream for the best results but you can sure add it all at once if you are in a hurry.
When you add the eggs, the mixture will appear curdled, but keep whisking and rest assured, it will turn smooth before you know it.
-Baking Powder and Baking Soda
Since the amount of butter in this cake is on the higher side, it will rise well enough even without baking soda or baking powder. But addition of the two is extremely important for chocolate part of the batter which is denser and needs a rising agent to level with the vanilla part.
Ingredients
- 200 g dark chocolate
- 295 g all-purpose flour
- 2.5 tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- 170g softened butter
- 220g granulated white sugar
- 3 large eggs – at room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 80 ml plain yoghurt – whisked until smooth
- 120 ml milk – at room temperature
- ½ cup cocoa powder
Directions
- Using the double boiler method melt the dark chocolate. You can replace it with milk chocolate if you do not prefer dark chocolate. (double boiler method: heat some water in a pan and place a heat resistant bowl over it, making sure it doesn’t touch the water in the pan)
- Once the chocolate is completely melted, set it aside and begin preparing the cake batter.
- In a big bowl, add in your softened butter.
- Start creaming the butter with the help of an electric hand blender.
- While continuously beating the butter, add the granulated white sugar in 3 batches.
- Beat the butter – sugar cream till it turns light and fluffy. It should take about 3 – 4 minutes.
- While still beating the buttercream, add in the eggs, one at a time and beat the mixture till smooth.
- Once the mixture is smooth, add in your whisked yoghurt and vanilla extract.
- Beat everything together till well combined.
- In a separate bowl, add in your sifted flour.
- To the flour add in the baking powder and the baking soda.
- Whisk the dry ingredients well in order to assure uniformity in the texture of the cake.
- While still beating the wet ingredients, add in the dry ingredients to it, in 3 batches – Whisking till smooth after every addition.
- Add in the milk to the batter, in two batches.
- Beat till you get a smooth and creamy batter.
- Once done, with the help of a spatula, scrap off the excess flour/sugar from the sides of the bowl and fold it into the batter using the Cut and Fold method.
- Take a new clean bowl.
- Transfer half of the batter to the new bowl.
- Add in some cocoa powder in half of the batter and mix it in using the cut and fold method till well combined.
- Take your Bundt pan and thoroughly layer it will non-stick cooking oil or spray.
- Pour the batter into the Bundt pan, alternating two spoons of both the batters – chocolate and vanilla.
- With the help of a skewer or the back of a spoon, make swirls throughout the cake giving it a marble effect.
- Tap the Bundt pan on the counter to release the air pockets before setting it to bake.
- Bake this in the oven at 180 degree Celsius for about 35 – 40 minutes.
- Flip the pan to release the cake and allow it to cool completely.
- Once at room temperature, pour the melted chocolate on top of the cake.
- Top the chocolate with some chopped walnuts for the added crunch and flavour and voila! You have yourself the most gorgeous, gourmet looking cake in no time.
This recipe is full proof and makes for such a delicious homemade treat! Make it for birthdays or special occasions and it will be a hit.
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