If a traditional pound cake and a marble cake had a dessert baby, you’d have this scrumptious Marble Loaf Cake. Lighter than a pound cake, denser than a regular cake with gorgeous swirls of chocolate and buttery flavors topped with a rich (again, easy) chocolate ganache.
If you want an easy showstopping dessert recipe this Marble Loaf Cake is it. It looks incredibly fancy but it’s really easy to make. Our step-by-step instructions and photos walk you through the whole process start to finish.
It’s great for gatherings, parties, for gifting or anytime you want a special beautiful dessert.
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What is a Loaf Cake?
It’s a cake baked in a loaf pan. The batter is a cake batter so it can be light and sweet or dense like a pound cake (which is a type of loaf cake).
It’s an easy way to bake a cake dessert then slice it like bread to serve.
Two other favorites are Carrot Cake Loaf Cake and Lemon Coconut Loaf Cake.
What is marble cake?
It has two types of batter that are swirled together to make a beautiful marble effect in the cut cake slices. Each slice is unique in its pattern.
In our marble cake recipe recipe yellow batter is mixed with chocolate cake batter for a fantastic chocolate swirl pattern. It’s topped with a chocolate glaze of chocolate ganache.
It’s lighter than a marble pound cake but still rich!
Why you’ll love this recipe
- Moist and delicious
- Very easy recipe
- A visual showstopper
- Freezes well
Recipe Ingredients Notes
Unsalted butter. Start with softened butter for best results.
Eggs. The large eggs should be room temperature. You can put them in a bowl of warm water 10 minutes for the right temperature before starting the recipe if they are right out of the refrigerator.
Flour. Regular all purpose flour or gluten-free measure-for-measure flour can be used. We always use Bob’s Red Mill gluten-free 1-to-1 flour blend. Cake flour can also be used for a finer crumb on the cake.
Unsweetened cocoa powder. Be sure to use unsweetened.
How to Make Marble Loaf Cake – Step-by-Step
Detailed printable recipe card at the end of this post.
STEP 1. Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare a 9-inch by 5-inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray (photo 1) or coat the pan with shortening and dust with flour.
STEP 2. Make the cake batter
In a large bowl, in a medium bowl using an electric mixer (hand mixer or bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment), beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy (3-5 minutes) (photo 2).
Add the eggs, one at a time and mixing after each one (photo 3).
In separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt (photo 4). Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, alternating with the buttermilk and mixing just until combined (photos 4-5).
Scrape the bottom of the bowl and the sides of the bowl to fully combine batter.
Stir in the vanilla (photo 6). Do not overmix.
STEP 3. Make the chocolate cake batter
Remove 1 cup of batter and pour it into a small bowl. Fold in the cocoa powder, just until combined (photo 7). If the mixture is a little too thick add a little bit more vanilla batter to thin the batter out.
STEP 4. Make and Bake
Pour half of the vanilla batter into the prepared pan (photo 8). Drop spoonful’s of chocolate batter on top, alternating with spoonful’s of the vanilla cake batter (photos 9-11). Using a knife or wooden skewer, make a few swirls to mix the batter together (this makes the beautiful swirls in the baked cake) (photo 12).
Bake for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
STEP 5. Cool
Cool for 10 minutes, then remove the loaf and finish cooling on a cooling rack (photo 13). Once cooled, prepare the ganache.
STEP 6. Ganache
To prepare the ganache, pour the heavy cream into a small saucepan and simmer on the stove using medium heat.
Once the cream is simmering, remove and pour into a bowl with the chocolate chips (photos 14-15). Place a plate on top of the bowl and allow it to sit undisturbed for 3 minutes (photo 16).
Remove the plate and mix the cream and chocolate until fully combined and the lumps have melted (photo 17). Spoon the chocolate ganache over the cake and allow it to cool. Sprinkle a few chocolate chips on top if desired (photo 18).
Pro Tips
Mess free glazing method. Before drizzling on the ganache, place the wire rack with the cake on a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet. After glazing, remove and discard the foil. This works great for any drippy glaze.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes! It’s still delicious without the ganache topping. The chocolate ganache just makes it richer.
How to Store
Once the loaf cake is fully cooled store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
How to Freeze
The cake is best stored before adding the ganache is freezing whole. Allow cake to cool, wrap in plastic wrap and place in a freezer storage bag. Freeze for up to 3 months and thaw at room temperature.
To freeze slices with the ganache on top:
- Slice the cake
- Gently wrap each slice in plastic wrap and place in a firm sided freezer safe container (this prevents the slices from being damaged in the freezer)
- Freeze for up to 3 months.
- Thaw in the refrigerator.
Freezing slices this way allows any amount to be thawed when desired for a perfect dessert!
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Recipe
Marble Loaf Cake
Ingredients
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1 ¾ cup all-purpose flour or cake flour* regular or gluten-free measure-for-measure flour blend
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 2/3 cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
Ganache
- 1 cup chocolate chips plus a few extra to garnish the top of the cake
- ½ cup heavy cream
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9×5 loaf pan with baking spray or coat the pan with shortening and dust with flour.
- In a large bowl, using an electric mixer (hand or stand mixer with paddle attachment) beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, and mixing after each one.
- In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt.
- Add the flour mixture into the wet mixture, alternating with the buttermilk and mixing just until combined. Stir in the vanilla. Do not overmix.
- Remove 1 cup of batter and pour it into a small bowl. Fold in the cocoa powder, just until combined. NOTE: If the mixture is a little too thick add a little bit more vanilla batter to thin the batter out.
- Pour half of the vanilla batter into the prepared loaf pan. Drop spoonful’s of chocolate batter on top, alternating with spoonful’s of the vanilla. Using a knife or wooden skewer, make a few swirls to swirl the batter together.
- Bake for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, then remove the loaf and finish cooling on a cooling rack. Once cooled, prepare the ganache.
Ganache
- To prepare the ganache, pour the heavy cream into a small saucepan and simmer on the stove using medium heat.
- Once the cream is simmering, remove and pour into a bowl with the chocolate chips. Place a plate on top of the bowl and allow it to sit undisturbed for 3 minutes.
- Remove the plate and mix the cream and chocolate until fully combined and the lumps have melted. Spoon the chocolate ganache over the cake and allow it to cool. Sprinkle a few chocolate chips on top if desired.
Notes
- Slice the cake
- Gently wrap each slice in plastic wrap and place in a firm sided freezer safe container (this prevents the slices from being damaged in the freezer)
- Freeze for up to 3 months.
- Thaw in the refrigerator.
G says
Hi! This recipe looks AMAZING!!! I really don’t like baking with buttermilk so I usually swap it out for the equal amount of sour cream. Will that work with this recipe?
Thanks in advance! 🙂
Toni Dash says
We’ve only made the recipe as written. Let us know how the sour cream swap works if you try it!
Jenny says
This was amazing, perfect for an evening snack.
Andrea Thueson says
This marble loaf was so good! The perfect texture and flavor. I will be making this again often! Thank you for sharing!
katerina says
My favorite kind of cake! SO YUMMY!
Jessica says
Ok… from the moment I saw this, I KNEW I had to make it! I’m so glad I did. I made it for a friend but took a bite out of it before I sent it. Haha! SOOOO good, thank you!
Wanda says
We love pound cake so I know my kids will devour this cake!
Maria says
This turned out so well! Great flavor and the slices look very cool.
Luci Petlack says
I love marble cake and pound cake, but the ganache is really what I love in this recipe. And thank you for the freezing directions!!
Holley says
Easy to follow steps for a delicious recipe! Certainly a crowd pleaser!
Priya Srinivasan says
Oh my god thats a gorgeous loaf! The pictures make it even more tempting! Love the idea of slicing the cake and freezing it ! Brilliant!