Mary Berry Marble Cake Recipe

This Mary Berry Marble Cake is a fun and striking recipe, which uses cocoa powder and vanilla extract to create a swirl effect. It’s a children’s party favorite, ready in about 1 hour.

Mary Berry Marble Cake Ingredients

For the Sponge

• 225g (8oz) butter, softened
• 225g (8oz) caster sugar
• 275g (10oz) self-raising flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 4 large eggs
• 2 tbsp milk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

For the Chocolate Swirl

• 1 ½ tbsp cocoa powder, sifted
• 2 tbsp boiling water

For the Chocolate Icing (Optional)

• 50g (2oz) butter
• 15g (½oz) cocoa powder
• 225g (8oz) icing sugar
• 2 tbsp milk

How To Make Mary Berry Marble Cake

1. Prepare the oven and tin: Preheat the oven to 180°C (160°C Fan/Gas 4). Grease a 23cm (9in) round cake tin or a deep 20cm (8in) square cake tin and line the base with baking parchment.
2. Mix the chocolate paste: In a small bowl, mix the 1½ tablespoons of cocoa powder with the 2 tablespoons of boiling water until you have a smooth, thick paste. Set aside to cool slightly.
3. Make the base batter: Place the softened butter, caster sugar, self-raising flour, baking powder, eggs, milk, and vanilla extract into a large bowl. Beat well for about 2 minutes using an electric mixer until the mixture is smooth and blended.
4. Divide the batter: Spoon half of the vanilla mixture into a separate bowl.
5. Create the chocolate batter: Add the cooled cocoa paste to one of the bowls of batter. Stir well until the mixture is uniformly brown and chocolatey.
6. Create the marble effect: Spoon the vanilla and chocolate mixtures alternately into the prepared tin. You can do big blobs or layers. Once all the batter is in, use a skewer or the handle of a teaspoon to swirl the two colors together lightly. Do not over-swirl, or the colors will muddy and become grey.
7. Bake: Bake in the preheated oven for about 45–55 minutes.
8. Check for doneness: The cake is ready when it is well-risen, springy to the touch, and shrinking slightly from the sides of the tin. A skewer inserted into the center should come out clean.
9. Cool: Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
10. Optional Icing: Melt the butter for the icing. Stir in the cocoa powder, icing sugar, and milk. Beat until smooth and spread over the cold cake.

Recipe Tips

• Cocoa paste: Mixing the cocoa with hot water prevents the chocolate batter from becoming dry. If you just added dry cocoa powder, that half of the cake would be denser than the vanilla half.
• All-in-one ease: Because this recipe uses baking powder, you don’t need to cream the butter and sugar separately. Just dump everything in and mix, provided your butter is very soft.
• Swirling technique: Less is more. A “figure of eight” motion with the skewer through the batter is usually enough to create a nice pattern.
• Tin size: If using a traybake tin (rectangular), the cooking time will be much shorter (about 35–40 minutes) as the batter is spread thinner.

What To Serve With Mary Berry Marble Cake

This cake is perfect for tea time or lunchboxes.

• Glass of Milk: The classic partner for marble cake.
• Custard: Serve warm as a pudding.
• Chocolate Ganache: A richer topping alternative.
• Vanilla Ice Cream: If serving as a dessert.

How To Store Mary Berry Marble Cake

• Store: Keep in an airtight tin at room temperature. It stays moist for up to 5 days.
• Freeze: Wrap the un-iced cake tightly in foil and freeze for up to 3 months. Iced cake can be frozen but the icing may crack.

Mary Berry Marble Cake Nutrition Facts

• Calories: 310kcal
• Protein: 4g
• Carbohydrates: 42g
• Fat: 14g
• Saturates: 8g
• Sugar: 28g
• Salt: 0.4g

Nutrition information is estimated per slice (based on 12 slices).

FAQs

Try More Recipes:

• Mary Berry Date and Walnut Cake Recipe
• Mary Berry Courgette Cake Recipe
• Mary Berry Orange Cake Recipe

Mary Berry Marble Cake Recipe

Author: Chloe Saidani Cooking Method:Bake Cuisine:British Courses:Dessert

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 15 minutesCook time: 50 minutesRest time: 10 minutesTotal time:1 hour 15 minutesCooking Temp:100 CServings:12 servingsEstimated Cost:25 $Calories:310 kcal Best Season:Available

Description

A classic two-tone sponge cake featuring swirls of vanilla and chocolate batter, made easy with Mary’s all-in-one mixing method.

Ingredients

• 225g butter, softened
• 225g caster sugar
• 275g self-raising flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 4 eggs
• 2 tbsp milk
• 1.5 tbsp cocoa powder + 2 tbsp hot water

Instructions

1. Mix cocoa and hot water to a paste; cool.
2. Beat butter, sugar, flour, baking powder, eggs, and milk until smooth.
3. Divide batter into two bowls.
4. Stir cocoa paste into one bowl.
5. Spoon blobs of each batter alternately into the tin.
6. Swirl lightly with a skewer.
7. Bake at 180°C for 45–55 minutes.
8. Cool and serve.

Notes

• Mixing the cocoa powder with boiling water is essential to “bloom” the cocoa, releasing its full flavor and ensuring the chocolate batter has the same consistency as the vanilla batter.
• When spooning the mixture into the tin, try to ensure that the bottom layer has alternating colors so that when you slice the cake, the pattern is visible all the way through.
• If the cake begins to dome too much in the center, you can gently press it down with a clean tea towel as soon as it comes out of the oven to flatten it.

Keywords:Mary Berry Marble Cake Recipe