Vanilla and Chocolate Marble Loaf Cake

This Marble Loaf Cake is a beautiful and deceptively easy chocolate and vanilla swirled pound cake! The classic flavor combination of vanilla and chocolate and the gorgeous swirls make this marble pound cake an absolute crowd-pleaser. It is moist with a tender, dense texture and is incredibly easy to make.

Why You'll Love This Recipe

• There's no need to make two separate batters - you'll just add some chocolate to half of the vanilla loaf cake batter!
• You probably have all of the ingredients in your pantry already.
• This vanilla and chocolate swirl loaf cake has a perfectly moist crumb, similar to my Chocolate Chip Loaf Cake.
• It's great for an afternoon snack or for dessert!
• You won't need to remember to soften any butter before making this moist marble cake recipe with oil.

Ingredients

• This marble bread uses pantry staples including all purpose flour, granulated sugar, and baking powder.
• Instead of butter like many cakes use, this loaf cake uses vegetable oil which keeps it extra moist. You can use any other neutral flavored oil, like canola.
• Buttermilk gives this cake a slight tang and helps balance out the sweetness.
• ​​​​​​​Vanilla extract and unsweetened cocoa powder flavor the vanilla chocolate marble loaf cake batter.

See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.

Substitutions & Variations

• For extra chocolate flavor, mix in ½ cup mini chocolate chips to the chocolate cake batter and top the cooled cake with a chocolate ganache.
• Make a chocolate covered strawberry variation on this loaf cake recipe by adding strawberry jam or freeze dried strawberry powder to the vanilla cake batter.
• If you don't have buttermilk, you can make your own by mixing whole milk with a splash of vinegar. Or, substitute with whole milk kefir or slightly watered-down Greek yogurt.

This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you replace or add any ingredients, please let us know how it turned out in the comments below!

How To Make This Marble Loaf Cake

Step 1: In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, granulated sugar, salt, and baking powder.

Step 2: In a separate bowl, whisk the eggs until light and fluffy then mix in the buttermilk, oil, and vanilla extract.

Step 3: Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until just combined.

Step 4: Transfer half of the cake batter to a clean bowl (or reuse the wet ingredient bowl) and fold in the cocoa powder and hot water.

Step 5: Alternately pour or scoop the vanilla batter and chocolate batters into a prepared loaf pan.

Step 6: Bake at 350°F until a toothpick comes out of the center clean.

Expert Baking Tips

1. Grease your loaf pan and then create a parchment paper sling so it your marble cake comes out of the pan clean.
2. Using two spoons or two ice cream scoops (one for each batter) makes transferring the batter to the loaf pan easy and clean.
3. Make an easy chocolate ganache to top off this marble loaf cake! Just heat ⅓ cup of heavy cream to a simmer, pour it over ¼ cup of high quality dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips, cover and let it sit for 5 minutes. Then, stir it with a spatula until it's smooth.

Recipe FAQs

Storage

Room Temperature

Store marble loaf cake in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Freezing Instructions

This cake freezes very well! Wrap individual slices in plastic wrap and then store together in a freezer bag for up to 3 months.

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