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German Marble Cake Recipe

German Marble Cake is a simply perfect recipe for the classic marble cake! Super-moist and tender, with a rich swirl of chocolate throughout the cake.

Marble Cake

This is the last, but not least, of this series of guest posts on Diethood. In just a few short days I will be back home trying to catch-up, clean-up, pay bills… oh I don’t even want to think about that.

Okay, back to good things.

Today is a treat. I am truly honored to have a guest post from Tori, The Shiksa! I discovered her blog via Tasty Kitchen, and I was hooked from the moment I landed on her homepage. Her energy, her enthusiasm, and her passion definitely translate through her words, and you will want to jump on The Shiksa just as fast as I did!

I’m so excited to have the opportunity to guest post for Katerina here at Diethood! I’ve admired this blog for quite some time, and I’m happy to share a delicious recipe with you. Today, we’ll be making German Marble Cake.

I realize some of you may not be familiar with my blog, so here’s a little background for you. I write about Jewish food and food history. My favorite thing to do is study the story behind what we’re cooking. For most of the recipes I post, I give some background on how that recipe came to be. If you’ll indulge me, before we start cooking, I’d like to tell you a little about the history of Marble Cake.

What Is A Marble Cake

The idea of marbling two different colored batters into a cake originated in nineteenth century Germany. Marble cakes made their way to America with German immigrants before the Civil War. Originally the cakes were marbled with molasses and spices. The first recorded Jewish recipe for a marble cake appears in an American cookbook called “Aunt Babette’s Cook Book: Foreign and Domestic Receipts for the Household,” published in 1889. This recipe replaced the molasses and spice combination by marbling chocolate into the cake, a reflection of the new American obsession with chocolate. The cake remained popular throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.

According to the “Encyclopedia of Jewish Food” by Gil Marks, “Many Jewish bakeries in the New York area in the 1950’s through the 1970’s would distinctively add a small amount of almond extract to the chocolate marble cake, creating a version sometimes referred to as a ‘German Marble Cake,’ that had a characteristic almond aroma.” Delicious, right?

How To Make A Marble Cake

This is my recipe for a traditional German marble cake recipe. To give it a slightly modern twist, I like to add vanilla pudding mix to the batter. This little trick is a fantastic way to add moisture and flavor to your cakes. You can use regular or instant pudding mix; just sift it in dry with the flour. It creates a wonderful texture and locks in moisture so the cake doesn’t dry out as quickly. They certainly weren’t doing it this way in Germany 150 years ago, but sometimes it’s fun to improve on tradition. Try it!

If you don’t have vanilla pudding mix in your pantry, just replace the pudding with an equivalent amount of cake flour.

Flour in a bowl.

Making a Pudding mixture for a cake.

mixing chocolate with a whisk.

Marble Cake Batter in a pan.

Marble Cake in a loaf pan.
Marble Cake in a loaf pan.


ENJOY!

Marble Cake

German Marble Cake

Katerina | Diethood
A simply perfect recipe for the all-time classic marble cake! Super-moist and tender, with a rich swirl of chocolate throughout.
No ratings yet
Servings : 12 servings
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Cooling Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 ¼ cup cake flour
  • ½ cup dry vanilla pudding mix about one 3.4 oz package—regular or instant
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ½ cup 1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 ½ tsp almond extract
  • ¾ cup milk
  • 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
  • You will also need: 8- or 9-inch loaf pan three mixing bowls (large, medium, small), electric mixer, whisk

Instructions
 

  • Directions:
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  • In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the cake flour, vanilla pudding mix (in dry powdered form), baking powder, and salt.
  • In a larger mixing bowl, whip together the butter, sugar, eggs and almond extract for a few minutes till the mixture turns light yellow.
  • Beat in half of the milk and half of the sifted flour mixture, then beat in the remaining milk and flour mixture.
  • Whip until the batter is smooth and creamy.
  • Rinse and dry the medium mixing bowl that you used for the sifted flour; you’ll need it again soon.
  • In a small bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder and 1/3 cup of very hot water till smooth.
  • Pour a little less than half of the cake batter into the medium mixing bowl that you rinsed out.
  • Whisk in the cocoa powder mixture till fully combined and smooth.
  • This is your chocolate marbling batter. Reserve the rest of the batter—this is your light cake marbling batter.
  • Generously grease your loaf pan using butter or cooking spray.
  • Pour the light and dark cake batters into your loaf pan and marble them. If you need a marbling technique, you can check out this post: How to Marble a Cake.
  • Bake the marble cake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
  • Remove from the oven and cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes.
  • Gently remove the cake from the pan and let it cool completely on the rack.
  • This cake will keep at room temperature for 3-4 days; wrap in plastic wrap or foil to seal in the moisture, or keep it inside an airtight container. To extend shelf life, keep the cake in the refrigerator.

Notes

  • This cake will keep at room temperature for 3-4 days; wrap in plastic wrap or foil to seal in the moisture, or keep it inside an airtight container.
  • To extend shelf life, keep the cake in the refrigerator.

Nutrition

Serving: 1 Slice | Calories: 167 kcal | Carbohydrates: 20 g | Protein: 2 g | Fat: 9 g | Saturated Fat: 5 g | Cholesterol: 62 mg | Sodium: 193 mg | Potassium: 155 mg | Fiber: 0 g | Sugar: 18 g | Vitamin A: 320 IU | Calcium: 65 mg | Iron: 0.6 mg

Nutritional info is an estimate and provided as courtesy. Values may vary according to the ingredients and tools used. Please use your preferred nutritional calculator for more detailed info.

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: German
Keyword: chocolate cake, chocolate recipes, marble cake, vanilla cake recipes
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39 comments on “German Marble Cake Recipe”

  1. It’s so great to see this recipe today! Two days ago, I was thinking about my grandma and the marble cake she used to make me!!! I haven’t had any since I moved from Europe, and I miss it. Will try your recipe 🙂

  2. Avatar photo
    Maggie @ Vittles and Bits

    Kate, I miss you but I’ve got to say you’ve had some really great guest bloggers! Tori’s cake looks amazing, I love the history as well. Be safe on your trip back – can’t wait to see your pics & stories!

  3. I am looking forward to making this cake.

    It brings back memories. My mother who is German/Latvian used to make this when I was little. I had totally forgotten about this cake. Just thinking about it makes me remember how good it was.

    I’ll have to share it with my parents once I make it. My father is from (former) East Germany.

    Do you know of any good recipes for Bienenstich? Uber-fattening, but oh so good.

  4. Avatar photo
    Hester @ Alchemy in the Kitchen

    Kate, this is fabulous – congrats on the Top 9 and a wonderful guest post. Even uncooked, the cake looks amazing!

  5. Congrats !!! Today’s Top 9 🙂 Kate and Tori, great post and great tutorial on how to get a good marbling effect 🙂

  6. Yummy! I love marble cake and this looks great! I look forward to your return, but you’ve had some AMAZING guests…thanks!

  7. Avatar photo
    Jerry Ko | Simply Good Eating

    Great job with that marble cake. It looks absolutely stunning in the photos and thanks for sharing the recipe 🙂

  8. Avatar photo
    Fran {The Flavorful Fork}

    Looks delish and I love that you provide a little history about the recipe. I am always interested in learning about how various traditions came to be. I will definitely be checking out your blog.

  9. I love Marble cake because of it’s simplicity in taste and flavor. When I was a kid we used to have it for breakfast some times and goes very well with a cup of black tea. Wonderful that you shared your recipe. Now I should make one.:-)

  10. What a gorgeous cake! Your marbling is PERFECT!!! Great cake, Tori!!!

    Looking forward to your return, Kate!!! Miss you~

  11. I just recently discovered Tori’s blog too and love it. How cute is her little bio picture? This German marble cake looks adorbs too. Wouldn’t be able to resist a slice.

  12. Avatar photo
    Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen

    It’s great to learn about the history of the recipe. Marble cake is one of my very favorites and I didn’t know where it originated from.

  13. Avatar photo
    Tina@flourtrader

    Great guest post Tori! The history regarding marble cakes was interesting and the cake looks wonderful. Also, your instruction links are very helpful.

  14. I find marble cake to be one of the best kinds of cakes. It is the best of both worlds how could you not like it?? Yours looks amazing

  15. Avatar photo
    Tina (PinayInTexas)

    Can’t wait to see what you have to share with us from your vacation in Macedonia!
    Another awesome guest post, btw! The marble cake was so beautifully done! Great job, Tori!

  16. This is a gorgeous cake. Great guest post, Tori. And Kate, I am sure you don’t want to come back, but the foodie world will be glad to have you!

  17. Avatar photo
    Erin @ Dinners, Dishes and Desserts

    What a great looking cake! I have never met Tori before, thanks for the introduction!

  18. Hi kate, looks like u having a great time there & don’t want to come back? Haha ha – kidding dear 😀
    hope to see u soon – around then & having a great time with ur fam in macedonia! 😉

    Hi tory!
    Tq for sharing this recipe & story about this lovely cake! Glad to know u! 😉

  19. Avatar photo
    The Mom Chef ~ Taking on Magazines One Recipe at a Time

    This looks absolutely delicious! Katerina, you finished off your guest blogging series with a perfect person. I love this cake! Tori, thank you so much for sharing it with us.

    Be safe coming home, Katerina.

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