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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".
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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 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings 12
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.
    Left image is dry ingredients in a bowl. Right image is all of the dry ingredients whisked together, with a balloon whisk in the bowl.
  • 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.
    Left image is the wet ingredients in a bowl. Right image is the ingredients combined together with a whisk in the bowl.
  • 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.
    Left image is the wet ingredients being poured into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Right image is the cake batter mixed together.
  • 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.
    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.
  • 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.
    Left image is cake batter added to the chocolate paste. Right image is the the batter and the cocoa paste mixed together 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.
    Left image is a brush greasing the inside of a bundt pan. Right image is vanilla and chocolate cake batter layered in the greased pan.
  • 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.
    Left images is chocolate chips sprinkled into the pan. Right image is a hand swirling the batter with a chopstick.
  • 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.
    Left image is hot cream being poured over chopped chocolate. Right image is the melted chocolate and cream ganache, with a spatula in the glass measuring cup.
  • 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.
    Left image is the bundt cake sitting on a cooling rack. Right image is a hand pouring the warm ganache over the burnt cake.

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.

Nutrition

Calories: 789kcal | Carbohydrates: 99.6g | Protein: 9.7g | Fat: 34.7g | Saturated Fat: 17.2g | Cholesterol: 171mg | Sodium: 1255mg | Potassium: 1221mg | Sugar: 68.1g | Calcium: 433mg | Iron: 4mg