Marble Cake

Here is another cake I made for my canasta ladies birthday luncheon celebration. In March we celebrated both Kathi Gordon and Dianna Piles. One wanted chocolate; the other vanilla, or more accurately Angel Food Cake, which in New England is the only birthday cake allowable. Kathi is from New England. Me, too, so I get it!

This cake looked spectacular, but was not perfect. I baked it a whisker too long so it was a bit dry. I found this recipe online and the blogger warned about over-baking, but I was trusting my toothpick, which did not come out completely clean until 10 minutes past the baking time. Next time…! The ladies did not complain.

I decided to decorate the cake by swirling a rich chocolate ganache (ala Jackson Pollock)I had from a previous recipe over the top. https://cookwithcindy.com/2025/02/16/chocolate-ganache/ The pansies added a spot of color. Pansies are edible.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease and flour two 8″ round cake pans.

Place 4 oz. good quality sweet chocolate chips (like Ghiradelli) or chopped sweet or semi-sweet chocolate in a microwavable bowl. Heat for 30 seconds. Stir well and return to the microwave and heat in 15 second blasts until the chocolate is completely melted and very smooth. Set aside.

Using either an electric or stand mixer, cream together 1/2 cup butter (one stick), 1/2 cup vegetable oil, and sugar until light and fluffy.

Add four eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Stir in 2 tsp. vanilla. I used vanilla paste, but vanilla extract is fine, too.

In a separate bowl whisk the dry ingredients: 3 cups flour, 1 Tbsp. baking powder, and 3/4 tsp. salt.

Using a rubber spatula, and gently hand-mixing, alternate adding flour mixture and 1 1/4 cup buttermilk to the butter/oil batter, starting and ending with the flour mixture and mixing until just combined after each addition. Do not overmix. If you do not have buttermilk, add a tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice to the milk and let it sit on the counter until it begins to curdle. You want the buttermilk at room temperature anyway.

Pour about half of the mixed batter into a separate bowl and add the melted chocolate.

Stir until completely combined and the batter is evenly chocolate. Alternate adding vanilla and chocolate batter to each pan, distributing evenly. Use a knife to swirl for marbled affect.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out MOSTLY clean. DO NOT OVERBAKE or the cake will be dry.

I think my cakes cracked a bit because of the extra 10 minutes of baking. They still tasted pretty darn good!

Cool cakes for 10 minutes in the pan, then flip out and cool completely on the rack before frosting. I made a Buttercream frosting: 2 sticks butter, 2 cups powdered Confectioners sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla, pinch of salt-more if you used unsalted butter-, and 2 Tbsp. heavy cream.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY DIANNA AND KATHI!

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Marble Cake

Rich and delicious. Very 'showy' cake!

Ingredients

• 4 oz. Chocolate Chips
• 1/2 cup Butter, softened
• 1/2 cup Vegetable oil
• 1 3/4 cup White, granulated sugar
• 4 lge. Eggs, room temperature
• 2 tsp. Vanilla extract
• 3 cups Flour
• 1 Tbsp. Baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. Salt
• 1 1/4 cup Buttermilk, room temperature

For the Buttercream Frosting

• 1 cup Butter, softened
• 2 cups Confectioners sugar
• 1/2 tsp. Vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp. Salt
• 2 Tbsp. Heavy cream

Instructions

For the Cake:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease and flour two 8" cake pans. Set aside.
• Place the chocolate chips in a microwavable bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir well, and then return to the microwave and heat in 15 second increments, stirring well in between until chocolate is completely melted and smooth. Set aside.
• Using an electric or stand mixer, cream together butter, oil and sugar until light and fluffy.
• Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Stir in vanilla extract.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together 3 cups flour, 1 Tbsp. baking powder and 3/4 tsp. salt.
• Using a spatula and gently hand-mixing, alternate adding flour mixture and buttermilk to the butter/oil batter, starting and ending with the flour mixture and mixing until just combined after each addition. Do not overmix!
• Pour 1/2 of the batter into a separate bowl and add the melted chocolate chips. Stir until completely combined and batter is evenly chocolate.
• Alternate adding vanilla and chocolate batter to each pan, evenly distributing batter into each pan. Use a knife to swirl for the marbled appearance.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Do not overbake.
• Allow cakes to cool in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out on a rack to cool completely before frosting.

For the Frosting:

• Using an electric mixer, cream the softened butter until light and fluffy. Slowly add the confectioners sugar, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Beat in 2 Tbsp. heavy cream.
• Sprinkle in salt and vanilla extract. Beat until well combined.
• The chocolate ganache decoration is optional. See ganache recipe above.