Delicious vanilla and chocolate swirls make this Marble Loaf Cake the perfect tea-time treat. It's moist, fluffy, and super tasty.
If you can't decide between chocolate and vanilla, this is the ideal cake! Vanilla and chocolate batters are mixed together to form a pretty pattern, hence the name Marble Cake.
For more old-fashioned loaf cakes to enjoy with a cuppa, check out my Coffee and Walnut Loaf Cake and Tea Loaf.
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Why You'll Love This Recipe
- It looks super cute!
- It's super easy to prepare with a handful of ingredients.
- It's moist, rich and indulgent.
Recipe Ingredients
Note: The full quantities are shown in the recipe card below.
- Butter - we use unsalted butter in baking.
- Self-raising flour - is also known as self-rising flour in the US and Canada.
- Caster sugar - is also known as superfine sugar.
- Eggs - we use large eggs in baking.
- Vanilla extract - use pure vanilla extract and not imitation.
- Cocoa powder - use unsweetened cocoa powder.
How to Make Marble Loaf Cake
Note: This is a summary of the instructions. The full ingredients and instructions are shown in the recipe card below.
- Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy.
- Add the vanilla extract and eggs, one at a time and beat until smooth. Don't worry if the mixture curdles; it will come together later.
- Sift over the flour.
- Gently fold the flour into the batter.
- Transfer half the batter to a separate bowl.
- Add cocoa powder to one lot of batter and mix gently to combine.
For the Marble Swirl
- Drop alternate spoonfuls of vanilla and chocolate batter into the loaf tin.
- With a skewer or knife, swirl the batter around 4-5 times (no more).
- Bake in the oven for 40-50 minutes. Let it cool in the tin.
Recipe Variations
We love our Marble Loaf Cake as is, but you could add a chocolate ganache topping if you like.
Common Questions
Marble Loaf Cake can be stored in an airtight container for 3 days or frozen for up to a month.
Usually, this is due to opening the oven door too soon when the centre of the cake has not been cooked.
A cracked cake is often caused by the oven being too hot. It doesn't affect the taste of the cake, just the look. It could also be because the baking tin is too small.
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📖 Recipe
Marble Loaf Cake
Equipment
- 900g (2lb) loaf tin. Mine measures 22cm long x 11cm width x 7cm depth.
Ingredients
- 175 g unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
- 175 g caster sugar, (superfine sugar)
- 3 eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 175 g self-raising flour, (self-rising flour)
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160°C fan / 180°C / 350°F and line a 900g / 2lb loaf tin with baking paper/parchment paper (see above for measurements). Leave an inch or two of paper overhanging at the long ends - this makes it easier to lift the cake out.
- Mix the softened butter and sugar together in a large bowl until pale and creamy. This takes approximately 2 minutes with an electric mixer.
- Add the vanilla extract and beat in the eggs one at a time. The mixture may split (curdle) but will come together later on.
- Sift in the flour and fold into the batter until well combined (don't over-mix). Spoon half of the batter into another mixing bowl, sift in the cocoa powder, and mix well to combine.
- Spoon alternate dollops of the vanilla batter and chocolate batter into the loaf tin, then use a skewer or knife to create a marble pattern by dragging it through the mixture in swirls. Smooth the surface if required. (See photos in the recipe post).
- Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Leave the cake in the tin to cool for 30 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
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