This marble bundt cake looks as good as it tastes, with a rich chocolate filling and a luscious vanilla cake batter. The optional chocolate chips and chocolate ganache is for those who love their chocolate!

A slice of marble bundt cake on a plate, with the remaining cake behind it on a cake stand. The type on the image says "Chocolate and Vanilla Marble Bundt Cake".

I’ve been working on streamlining my recipes here on this blog for awhile. Often, I get accused of being a bit “extra” when it comes to my recipes. And though I won’t promise that I’ll stop creating recipes like my miso peanut butter chocolate chip cookies with crystallized ginger and black sesame seeds (I KNOW! It’s a lot going on but that recipe is amazing) I am trying to make recipes that are a little more…accessible. Which brings me to this marble bundt cake recipe. I’ve shared marble bundt cakes before, include a marble pound cake, a marble rum cake, a super old recipe I had for chocolate and vanilla marble bundt cake as well as a meyer lemon marble bundt cake where I announced my cookbook Marbled, Swirled, and Layered. But this marble bundt cake is an easier streamlined version than previous versions (including the one in my cookbook, that I still think is stellar). And yes, it still has a few extras in it, but that’s what makes it worth making!

Key Ingredients

Flour: I tested this with all-purpose and cake flour and I think the all-purpose is better, as the cake flour is a little too soft and tender for a bundt cake. You need a slightly stronger crumb to hold up the chocolate chips that I added to the cake, as well as to hold together as you unmold the cake. If you do opt for cake flour, swap out the same amount by weight or increase the cake flour to 4 cups, as cake flour is less dense than all-purpose
Sugar: I opted for mostly granulated white sugar, which gives tenderness and moisture to the cake. I did use a little brown sugar in the chocolate paste, as the molasses in the brown sugar punches up the chocolate flavor.
Butter: I used melted unsalted butter in the batter to add richness and flavor.
Oil: A little of oil is added into the batter to lend moisture that a cake made with just butter can’t replicate.
Buttermilk: This gives tang and depth to the cake. It also acts as an acidic ingredient for the baking soda in the batter, helping give rise and loft to the cake
Vanilla: I use a big dose of vanilla so the yellow part of the cake tastes like vanilla cake.
Cocoa: I used Dutch-process cocoa for contrasting darkness as well as a rich mellow chocolate flavor.
Coffee: I bloom the cocoa (and brown sugar) with coffee to boost the chocolate flavor and make a chocolate paste. This gives the dark part of the cake a distinct robust chocolate flavor.
Chocolate: I amp up with chocolate flavor even more with some chocolate chips and with a chocolate ganache icing. If you’re looking for a more balanced vanilla to chocolate marble cake, just skip the chocolate chips and the ganache and dust the top of the cake with powdered sugar before serving.

A slice of marble burnt cake on a plate, with an Americano coffee behind it.

How to make this marble bundt cake

Make the main batter by whisking together flour, white granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together buttermilk, melted butter, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Then pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir together until a batter forms.

Left image is the wet ingredients being poured into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Right image is the cake batter mixed together.

Make the chocolate paste by placing the cocoa and brown sugar in the same bowl the wet ingredients were in (not need to clean it). Then stir in hot coffee to bloom the cocoa. Mix until a paste forms. This blooms the cocoa, boosting the flavor.

Left image is cocoa and brown sugar in a bowl. Right image is the coffee mixed into the cocoa and brown sugar, making a paste.

Scoop out about two cups of the cake batter and mix it into the chocolate paste. Grease a bundt pan really well, and then pour or spoon a layer of vanilla batter and then chocolate batter. Repeat the more vanilla and chocolate, add some chocolate chips, then top with the rest of the vanilla batter. Use a chopstick and swirl the cake batter together in an “S” formation throughout the pan. Bake in the oven until a skewer comes out clean.

Left images is chocolate chips sprinkled into the pan. Right image is a hand swirling the batter with a chopstick.

Let cool in the pan for about 45 minutes, then invert onto a wire cooling rack. Let cool completely. Once cool, make the chocolate ganache by heating up the cream on the stove and then pour the hot cream over chopped chocolate. Mix until a smooth ganache forms and then pour it over the cooled cake.

Left image is the bundt cake sitting on a cooling rack. Right image is a hand pouring the warm ganache over the burnt cake.

Tips for bundt cakes

There’s nothing more disappointing than baking a bundt cake and then having it stick in the pan! We’ve all been there (I certainly have). Here’s a few tips on getting the perfect whole bundt cake out of the pan.

Use the right flour: I use all-purpose flour. If you use cake flour, the cake comes out very soft and tender. Which sounds great except you need a sturdier cake that will hold up as you invert the pan. Pick all-purpose to ensure the cake remains whole as you unmold it.
Use the right pan: A solid aluminum pan, like one made my Nordicware, is my favorite. Silicone pans sounds like a good idea because they’re flexible, but you won’t get the crust of the cake to brown properly. A solid sturdy metal pan is a better choice.
Place the pan directly in the oven: I often place cake and pie pans on baking sheets to catch any stray batter that might overflow and to help move the pan in and out of the oven. But a baking sheet will insulated the bundt pan and not let the cake brown properly. You want a properly baked cake, with a golden brown crust, which will release easier than an underbaked cake. Skip the baking sheet and place the pan directly in the oven.
Grease it right before baking: I use something called cake goop. It’s 1 part shortening, 1 part vegetable oil, 1 part flour (by volume) mixed together. For instance, I mix 1/2 cup shortening (95 g), 1/2 cup vegetable oil (100 g), 1/2 cup flour (70 g) and then store it in a mason jar in my pantry. It keeps for about 2 to 3 months. I find the cake goop works better than melted butter or cooking spray. Brush the cake goop onto the pan right before pour the batter into it. If you grease the pan first, then make the batter, the grease will fall into the bottom of the pan. Greasing it right before adding the batter ensures the sides of the pan are oiled.

Slices of marble bundt cake on individual plates.

Storage

Store the cake for up to three days under a cake dome or loosely covered with plastic wrap. You can also freeze leftover slices of the cake. Just slice the cake and place them on a large baking sheet in the freezer. Once frozen solid (about two hours) stack them with a piece of parchment paper between each slice inside a resealable Ziploc bag. Thaw individual slices at room temperature for a couple of hours before serving.

If you like this marble bundt cake, here are some other bundt cake recipes you might enjoy:

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Marble Bundt Cake

This rich marble cake has a luscious yellow cake batter with a generous amount of vanilla and an intense chocolate batter that is achieved by blooming Dutch-processed cocoa with a little bit of brown sugar and hot coffee to make a chocolate paste that is added to some of the yellow batter. I boost the chocolate in the cake (because I love chocolate) but adding in chocolate chips and a chocolate ganache frosting. But if you want a more balanced vanilla to chocolate cake, skip the chocolate chips and frosting and just dust the cake with powdered sugar right before serving.

Course coffee time, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Keyword bundt cake, cake, chocolate, vanilla

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 1 5

Servings

Calories 789kcal

Author Irvin

Equipment

12 cup bundt pan

Ingredients

Cake batter

3 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 525 g
2 1/4 cup white granulated sugar 450 g
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups buttermilk 450 g
1 cup unsalted butter, melted 2 sticks or 225 g
4 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil 100 g
4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa 65 g (sift if clumpy)
2 tablespoons packed dark brown sugar
6 tablespoons hot brewed coffee or hot water (see note below recipe)
1/2 cup chocolate chips 95 g

For chocolate ganache frosting

4 ounces dark chocolate chopped (not chocolate chips – see note below recipe)
1/2 cup heavy cream

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Place the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl. Vigorously whisk all the dry ingredients together to make sure they are well blended.
Place the buttermilk, melted butter, eggs, oil, and vanilla extra in a medium-sized bowl. Whisk together. The mixture will look a little curdled (this is the butter hardening a bit from the cold buttermilk and eggs). This is normal.
Pour all the wet ingredients (scraping the bowl with a silicone spatula to get all the solids) into the large bowl with the dry ingredients. Mix together until a batter forms and there are no dry spots.
In the medium bowl that held the wet ingredients (no need to clean it), add the cocoa and brown sugar. Add the hot brewed coffee (or water) and stir to form a paste.
Add about 2 cups of the cake batter (about 500 g if you have a scale) to the cocoa paste and mix to form a chocolate cake batter.
Thoroughly grease a 12-cup bundt pan. I like to use cake goop (see note above). Spoon about 1/3 of the yellow cake batter into the bottom of the bundt pan. Spoon half the chocolate cake batter over the yellow cake batter. Repeat with more yellow cake batter and the remaining chocolate cake batter.
Then sprinkle the 1/2 cup of chocolate chips over the chocolate cake batter, trying not to get the chocolate too close to the edge of the pan. Chips have a tendency to stick to the pan, which is why I add it at the end this way.
Then spoon the remaining yellow cake batter over the chocolate chips. Take a chopstick or butter knife and swirl it around the cake batter in an "s" formation to marble. Do this once, don't over mix.
Bake in the oven 65 to 75 minutes long or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
Let the cake cool in the pan for 45 minutes. The cake pan will still be warm but you should be able to pick it up with your bare hands. Invert the cake pan onto a wire cooling rack and release the cake. Let it cool completely before frosting.
Once the cake has cooled, make the ganache frosting by placing the chopped chocolate inside a 2 cup glass measuring cup or a medium sized glass bowl. Heat the heavy cream on the stove until bubbles start to form on the sides and the cream is hot. Pour over the chopped chocolate and let it sit for 2 minutes. Then stir to melt the chocolate. If the chocolate doesn’t melt completely, you can microwave the mixture in 10 seconds burst to help it along or pour it back into the pan you used to heat the cream and cook it on low heat on the stove until a smooth ganache forms.
Move the cake from the cooling rack to a cake plate or stand. Drizzle the warm ganache over the cake and let it sit for two hours for the ganache to cool before slicing and serving.

Notes

Coffee: you can make extra coffee in the morning and save it for this recipe. Just warm it up in the microwave before adding it to the dry cocoa and brown sugar. If you don’t have coffee, you can use hot water and add 1 teaspoon of instant coffee or instant espresso powder. Or just skip the coffee entirely and use boiling hot water.

Ganache chocolate: Use chopped chocolate that you would normally enjoy eating. I don’t recommend chocolate chips, which are often formulated to not melt at high temperatures. Bar chocolate will melt easier and smoother for the ganache.

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