What is a Marble Cake, or “gâteau marbré”?
A Marble cake, or a Gâteau Marbré as we say in French, is a popular cake characterized by its marble appearance, that we achieve by swirling together two different batters.
Mixing a chocolate batter with a vanilla-flavored batter is by far the most traditional take, and the one I am sharing here with you today. In taste, a marble cake is tender and buttery, with hints of both vanilla and chocolate from the two batters.
Ingredients you’ll need to make this Marble Cake
This recipe is made with simple and affordable ingredients and simple techniques. Here is an overview of your need.
Butter. Unsalted butter is best. The butter also needs to be at room temperature when you use it, so make sure you take it out of the fridge at least 1 hour beforehand.
Sugar. White sugar is best.
Eggs. We need exactly 165g of eggs for this recipe, which is about 3 eggs. See my notes in the FAQs below for how to get exactly 165g of egg. Make sure you use eggs that are at room temperature.
Flour. All-purpose flour is the way to go for a traditional French “gâteau marbré”.
Milk. Use 2% mf or whole milk for best results.
Vanilla extract. A splash of vanilla extract is used to flavor the vanilla half of the batter.
Cocoa powder. This is used to flavor the other half of the batter. Use unsweetened cocoa powder, ideally labelled as “premium”.
Ingredients
2/3 cup (150g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup (200g) sugar
165g eggs (3 eggs)*
2 cups (235g) all purpose flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp kosher salt
¼ cups (60g) milk (2% m.f or whole)
2 tsp (8.5ml) vanilla extract
3 tsbp (22g) unsweetened cocoa powder + 1 tbsp (15ml) milk
*Whisk the eggs together in a small bowl and weight them. Adjust if needed: remove some of the egg mixture to get 165g exactly.
Instructions
Preheat oven to 390°F (200°C). Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan with butter and dust with flour.
Step 1 – Using a spatula or a whisk, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs and mix until well incorporated.
Step 2 – In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Combine with the wet ingredients, and mix until just incorporated. Add in the 60g of milk, and mix until just incorporated.
Step 3 – Divide the batter in two separate bowls. In the first bowl, stir in the vanilla extract. In the second bowl, stir in the cocoa powder with one tablespoon of milk.
Step 4 – Using a large spoon, dollop about 1/3 of a cup of the vanilla batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly along the bottom. Using another large spoon, dollop the same amount of chocolate batter in the middle, and spread it out (pushing it down slightly in the middle and leaving some of the vanilla cake mix visible all around the edges).
Repeat with a layer of vanilla cake mix, and then a layer of chocolate cake mix (always pushing the batter slightly in the middle, and leaving some of the batter underneath visible around the edges – to create that wavy marbled pattern when sliced). Repeat, alternating the layers, until all the batter is used. To create marbling, run a sharp knife through the batter, vertically along the length of your loaf pan, forming a “S”.
Step 5 – Bake for 10 minutes. Lower the heat to 350°F (180°C) and bake for 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.
Transfer to a cooling rack, and let cool at least 15 minutes before removing from the pan and slicing.
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