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–+ servings
Slice of chocolate marble cake on a white plate.

Marble Cake w/ Chocolate Frosting

This incredible marble cake is made with two moist layers of marble cake which are frosted with chocolate fudge frosting.
5 from 1 vote
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Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
chill time 1 hour
Total Time 2 hours 20 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 14 slices
Calories 675 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

For the cake

  • 1 ½ cups Granulated sugar
  • 6 tablespoon Butter room temp, unsalted
  • 2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
  • ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
  • ⅓ cup Vegetable oil
  • 3 Eggs
  • 1 ½ teaspoon Vinegar
  • ¼ cup Sour cream
  • 2 ⅓ cups Flour
  • 2 teaspoon Baking powder
  • ¾ cup Milk
  • 4 oz Dark chocolate 60% melted
  • 2 tablespoon Cocoa powder

For the frosting

  • 9.5 oz Butter unsalted
  • 12 oz Dark chocolate
  • ⅓ cup Cocoa powder
  • 1 cup Heavy cream
  • 1 cup Powdered sugar
  • ½ teaspoon Kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract

Instructions
 

  • Preheat an oven to 180c (350f) and prepare 2 8-inch baking pans with parchment paper.
  • In a large mixing bowl, add the soft butter, vanilla extract, kosher salt, and sugar. Mix with an electric hand mixer until creamy and smooth for about 3 minutes.
  • Add the eggs and the oil and mix until well combined.
  • Add the sour cream, and vinegar, and mix until creamy and smooth.
  • Add ½ of the flour and ½ of the milk, and baking powder and mix it until almost combined.
  • Add the rest of the flour and milk and mix until just combined and there are no lumps of flour visible.
  • Divide the mixture in half, add the melted chocolate, and sift the cocoa powder into one-half of the cake mixture and mix until just combined. Don't overmix.
  • Divide the vanilla cake batter between two 8-inch baking pans. Using a ¼ cup measure, drop scoops of chocolate cake batter over the vanilla batter, distributing it evenly between the pans.
  • Use a toothpick or a butter knife to make swirls in the batter creating a marbled effect. Don’t overdo it so you don’t get a mixed batter.
  • Bake in a 180c (350f) preheated oven for about 25-30 minutes (depending on your oven) or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean with a few moist crumbs.
  • Allow the cake to cool completely before frosting so the frosting won't melt off the cake.

Make the frosting

  • Into a saucepan, add the butter, heavy cream, and dark chocolate, and sift the cocoa powder powdered sugar, and kosher salt.
  • Heat all the ingredients over medium heat mixing constantly until the mixture is smooth and melted.
  • Strain the mixture into a large bowl or baking pan to speed up the cooling process.
  • Cover the top with plastic wrap so that the plastic wrap is directly touching the top of the frosting. This will prevent skin from forming.
  • Let it cool at room temperature for 30 minutes, and then transfer it to the fridge to cool for another 1-2 hours. (depending on the thickness you are looking for)
  • Remove the frosting from the fridge and give it a mix with a spoon or a spatula.

Assembly

  • Pipe a small dollop of the frosting on the surface that you will frost on. Lay the first cake layer over the frosting dot.
  • Top the first cake layer with about ⅓ of the frosting and spread an even layer using a spatula.
  • Top it with the second cake layer. Frost the cake with the remaining frosting and make a wave pattern using an offset spatula.

Notes

  • Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly. you don’t want to place cold batter into the oven.
  • Use cake strips! Cake strips give you even and perfectly baked cake layers. Click here for the Amazon link.
  • Don't over swirl. Use a knife or skewer to gently swirl the batters together. Limit yourself to a few figure-eight motions to avoid over-mixing, which can muddy the distinct colors.
  • Use room temperature ingredients. It is important that you use room-temperature ingredients like eggs and butter. This step ensures that your mixture mixes into a homogenous mixture and bakes perfectly.
  • Measure your flour correctly! When measuring your flour, avoid scooping it with a measuring cup. Instead, stir the flour with a spoon to create as many air pockets as possible, and spoon it into your measuring cup. Finally, level it with a back of a knife.
  • Don't cook this frosting on very high heat so the chocolate won't burn. If you are using very high heat, the texture of this frosting will become grainy and not smooth.
  • Don’t overmix the batter, you don’t want to develop the gluten in the flour. This step ensures you have a moist cake and not a dense and dry cake.
  • Line your baking pan with parchment paper! This step helps the cake to bake evenly, and it makes sure that your loaf cake will release easily from the pan.
  • Be patient! I know it’s extremely tempting to frost this cake as it is pulled out of the oven, but let the cake cool for at least 1 hour so it will be firmer and won’t crumble up, and prevent the frosting from melting.

Nutrition

Calories: 675kcalCarbohydrates: 64gProtein: 8gFat: 48gSaturated Fat: 27gPolyunsaturated Fat: 5gMonounsaturated Fat: 13gTrans Fat: 1gCholesterol: 114mgSodium: 421mgPotassium: 358mgFiber: 5gSugar: 31gVitamin A: 991IUVitamin C: 0.1mgCalcium: 107mgIron: 5mg
Keyword Marble Cake, Marble layer cake
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