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Ingredients
- This recipe is adjusted for 3" round pans:
- 3 cups cake flour, sifted
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/4 cup butter, room temperature
- 2 1/4 cups white granulated sugar
- 12 egg yolks, room temperature
- 1 1/8 cup whole milk, room temperature
- 3 teaspoon McCormick® Vanilla Extract
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- 3/8 cup cocoa, good quality
- For Frosting:
- 2 1/4 cups butter, at room temperature
- 6 cups powdered sugar
- 1 1/8 cup cocoa powder
- 6 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- 3 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch table salt
Preparation
Step 1
Heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two 8-inch round cake pans buy buttering (or spraying) and then adding a piece of parchment to the bottom of the pan.
In the bowl of a stand mixer with whisk attachment cream together butter and sugar on medium-high until light and fluffy, at least 3 minutes.
Lower speed to medium and add in egg yolks, one at a time, whisking after each addition.
With the mixer on low, add in milk and vanilla and fully incorporate. (usually about 1 minute)
Remove bowl from mixer and fold flour mixture into butter mixture. Mix until just combined.
In a small bowl add the melted butter and cocoa and mix until combined.
Add 3/4 cup of the yellow cake batter into the cocoa/butter mixture and fold together.
Now add 3/4 cup of yellow cake batter to each cake pan and smooth out.
Divide the remaining yellow cake batter between the pans and smooth out as much as possible without mixing.
Take a clean table knife and make a swirling patter throughout the cake to gently achieve the marble effect.
In a the bowl of an electric stand mixer, fitted with whisk attachment whisk butter and sugar on medium-high speed until very pale and fluffy or about five minutes.
With the mixer off, add in cocoa powder, vanilla and salt.
Turn mixer on low and blend for about 30 seconds.
One tablespoon at a time add in heavy cream.
Once all cream has been added and mixture is mostly combined, turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Now turn the mixer onto medium-high to high and whisk for 3-5 minutes or until mixture is lighter and fluffier. The frosting will be shiny and seem to have many large air bubbles throughout and this is exactly what we are going for. (You can smooth those out on the cake if so desired.)
Place one layer of cooled marble layer on cake stand. (You should not have needed to level these cakes, but in the small change that you did now would be the time to do so.)
Gently set other marble cake layer on top and make sure it is centered.
I highly recommend following every step as written. Achieving the perfect marble cake recipe from scratch is worth every step in the process, I promise! The eggs and butter should be room temperature, the butter and sugar need to be whisked for a certain period of time, etc. I have made this recipe and skipped certain steps and it almost always resulted in a dense and dry cake.
As you may have already determined, I used the existing yellow cake to make my chocolate cake. Some folks prefer to make a yellow cake and a separate chocolate cake for marble (which is fine!). My method is a *bit* of a time saver and certainly doesn’t lack any flavor.
While the marble cake is definitely the star of the show, the chocolate buttercream is definitely a nominee for best supporting role! It is beyond light and fluffy but still manages to have a rich depth of flavor that will have you coming back for more.