A marble cake is a cake with a streaked or mottled appearance (like marble) achieved by very lightly blending light and dark batter. It can be a mixture of vanilla and chocolate cake, in which case it is mainly vanilla, with streaks of chocolate. Other possibilities are strawberry or other fruit flavors, or (particularly in marbled coffee cakes) cinnamon or other spices.
INGREDIENTS
- 55 g / 2 oz Plain chocolate
- 3 tbsp Milk
- 70 g / 2 1/2 oz Unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
- 85 g / 3 oz Caster sugar
- 1 Egg, beaten
- 3 tbsp Soured cream
- 115 g / 4 oz Self-raising flour, plus extra for dusting
- 1/2 tsp Baking powder
- 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract
INSTRUCTION
Preheat the oven to 190’C / 375’F / Gas Mark 5. Grease a 450-g / 1-lb loaf tin and line the base with non-stick baking paper. Dust a little flour around the inside of the tin, shacking out the excess.
Break up the chocolate, place in a small heatproof bowl with the milk and set over a saucepan of simmering water. Heat gently until just melted. Remove from the heat.
Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the egg and soured cream. Sift the flour and baking powder over the mixture, then fold in lightly and evenly using a metal spoon.
Spoon half the mixture into a separate bowl and stir in the chocolate mixture. Add the the vanilla extract to the plain mixture.
Spoon chocolate and vanilla mixtures alternately into a prepared loaf tin, swirling lightly with a knife or skewer for a marbled effect. Bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes, or until well-risen and firm to the touch.
Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out and finish cooling on a wire rack.
Making & Baking 