Let's see. Chocolate cake or yellow cake or both? That's an easy decision! And it's why I love Buttermilk Marble Cake. You get two flavors in one.
Buttermilk Marble Cake From Scratch
What's strange is how seldom marble cake shows up on the dessert table these days. Or maybe it's just not trendy in Austin? I'm not sure, but it's always such a hit when I make it -- especially with Fuzz's friends who are busy and probably like having food decisions made for them.
So here's a scratch marble cake recipe which I adapted from my other marble cake recipe It's topped with my favorite chocolate frosting.
9x13 Inch Pan or Glass Dish
Since I'm on a glass baking dish kick I used a glass 9x13 inch Pyrex and served it straight out of the pan. We enjoyed it, but next time I might try making it in a deeper 8x12 inch pan so the cake will be a little taller and I can make a more dramatic swirl. With this recipe, the chocolate batter is a lot more fluid than the yellow batter and tends to sink to the bottom, so keep that in mind as you layer.
More Marbled Recipes
Recipe
Easy Scratch Marble Sheet Cake
Ingredients
Yellow Cake Batter
- 1 ½ cups cake flour (170 grams)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
- 2 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ cups plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk or sour milk
- 1 stick unsalted butter, softened (114 grams)
Chocolate Cake Batter
- 1 cup cake flour (114 grams)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
- ½ cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder, not Dutch
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ½ teaspoon of vanilla
- 1 stick unsalted butter, softened (114 grams)
- ½ cup freshly brewed coffee cooled to room temperature
Favorite Chocolate Frosting
- 8 tablespoons of unsalted butter (114 grams)
- 1 ½ tablespoon of sour cream, room temperature (20 grams)
- 3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sift or aerate before using (350 grams)
- ¾ cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- 1 tiny pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2-3 tablespoons of heavy cream
- Whole milk as needed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325° F. Spray bottom only of a 9x13 inch glass baking pan with baking spray.
- Have ready two large mixing bowls. In the first bowl, mix together all dry ingredients for the yellow cake batter (flour through salt). In the second bowl, mix together all dry ingredients for the chocolate batter (flour through salt).
- Make the yellow batter first. Whisk the 2 eggs, yolk, vanilla and 2 tablespoons of the milk together in a small bowl. Add the butter to the dry ingredients and mash it around, then stir in the egg mixture until it’s as blended as you can get it. Add the remaining ½ cup buttermilk and beat with a handheld mixer until smooth.
- Repeat the same procedure with the chocolate batter. Whisk the egg, vanilla and all the buttermilk together in a small bowl. Add the butter to the dry mixture and mash it around. Add the egg mixture and blend it as much as you can, then add the coffee and beat with a handheld mixer until smooth. Now you should have a bowl of vanilla batter and a bowl of chocolate batter. The chocolate batter will be very thin.
- Pour about half of the vanilla batter into the pan. Pour chocolate batter over the vanilla, then drop spoonfuls of vanilla batter of the chocolate, allowing parts of the chocolate batter to show through.
- Bake the cake for about 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool completely, then frost with a generous layer of Chocolate Frosting.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix the butter, sour cream sugar, cocoa, salt and 2 tablespoons of the cream as well as you can, then beat with a hand-held mixer until pasty and thick. Continue adding milk until you get a nice, smooth, spreading consistency. Spread over the cake. I like to store it in the refrigerator and bring it to room temperature before serving.
Anna says
That's awesome! Glad you had success with the cake, Layton.
Layton says
I did a different frosting but this is the first from scratch cake Ive made and it was perfect. Thank you!
phyllis says
Hi all, the second time around, I placed a parchment sling under the cake to bake and pulled it our so it did not to be cut from the pan.... it worked well, and the cake and icing were delish.
Phyllis
Anna says
Hi Mandy! Thanks for the review. I'm so glad you and your family liked it :).
Mandy says
This is the best marble cake I've ever had. The family loved it! It was such a hit it's now my birthday cake go to.. Any other marble cake I've tired separated drastically or mixed together too much... the only i changed was the icing with little kids chocolate icing was a little to much so I used a traditional buttercream frosting... thank you much!
Anna says
I've never tried it before, Tessa, but I'd probably multiply it by 1 1/2. Good luck!
Tessa says
What would you recommend to multiply the recipe by if I need to make this cake in a sheet pan?
Anna says
Hi Meredith,
Thanks so much for letting me know. Our family really likes it too, but with all the marble cake recipes out there it's always hard to know which one is truly the best. I'm glad this one scored some points with you and your family. Also, I commend you on your talent for carving cakes. I am very much in awe of you and everyone else with the ability to decorate.
Meredith says
Let me just say I've never been a fan of marble cakes, but this cake blew me away! I made it for a Nerf gun cake so any parts I carved away my son took and ate them! What little I tasted was sooooo moist and fluffy. He left a little piece on his plate which sat out overnight and was still soft and moist 12 hours later. This is now my go to marble cake, thanks so much!
Anna says
Thanks for the review, Jenny! I really appreciate it and am glad the recipe worked for you.
Jenny F says
Outstanding cake! I've been searching for a from scratch marble cake recipe for a long while. I've tried two others, but both were lacking in flavor and tenderness. I wanted a "regular" cake for birthdays, but most of the recipes out there seem to be for pound cakes and Bundt cakes. I was so happy to find this recipe. 🙂 The cake is so good, it can be eaten without frosting. (I used my own frosting recipe, so I can't rate the frosting in this recipe). Thank you for posting this yummy marble cake! My whole family enjoyed it.
Katrina says
I just used my glass baking dish today, twice. Pizza Hut-like breadsticks and pizza. Now I want to make a cake. Family get together on Friday. Hmmm.
kathleen says
My mom also made marble cake when I was little. Her marbling technique was a little different than the one in this recipe. She would pour the chocolate batter on the vanilla batter and then run a knife around the inside of the pan.
Jan Harris says
Looks really good Anna. When I was a kid my Mom made them alot.