The best marble loaf cake recipe - Starbucks has nothing on this one! It’s a chocolate marble loaf cake with swirls of vanilla and chocolate cake batter. We’re using sour cream to make our marble loaf cake moist and the results are amazing!
Preheat oven to 325°F. Spray a loaf pan with baking spray and line with parchment paper, leaving an overhang for easy removal.
baking spray
In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar 3 minutes until light and fluffy.
1 ⅔ cups granulated sugar, ¾ cup salted butter
Add eggs one at a time, followed by vanilla and sour cream, mixing well after each addition.
4 large eggs, 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract, ⅔ cup full-fat sour cream
Sift in flour and baking soda and mix gently until just combined.
2 cups cake flour, ½ teaspoon baking soda
Spoon ⅓ of the batter into a separate bowl and add cocoa and hot water. Mix until just combined and smooth.
¼ cup boiling water, ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
Alternate ⅓ cup scoops of vanilla and chocolate batter into the center of prepared loaf pan until all batter is added. Tap loaf pan onto the counter a few times to minimize air bubbles, then gently swirl with a butter knife or toothpick to marble the top of the loaf.
Bake in preheated oven for 65-70 minutes or until a toothpick in the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool in pan for 15 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
Video
Notes
Storage and freezing: You can store this cake in an airtight container for up to 4 days at room temperature -- if you would like to store it longer, you can freeze it, well wrapped, for up to 2 months.Loaf pan size: Some bakers have mentioned to me that they ended up with too much batter for an 8.5 x 4.5 in. loaf pan. This may come from an excess of flour in the batter, which can happen if you measuring flour by volume instead of weight. To prevent this, I always recommend measuring dry ingredients by weight using a kitchen scale or with the spoon and level method. To be on the safe side, you can definitely use a 9x5 inch loaf pan for this recipe as well -- just begin checking the cake after 55 minutes of baking.