Moist Marble Cake

This is a super simple and extravagant-looking marble cake which is surprisingly so easy to put together using only one ingredient based on the vanilla cake recipe. You will start by making a delicious whipped chocolate ganache frosting because it needs some time to set. Start by finely chopping up 270 grams of dark chocolate which is about one and two-thirds cups then add that into a heat-proof bowl and set aside. Next, add three cups of cream into a saucepan over low to medium heat and heat it until the cream begins to bubble.

Once it starts to gently bubble, take it off the heat as you do not want to overheat the cream. Immediately pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate then let that sit for about 5 minutes to give the chocolate some time to melt and then use an immersion blender to blend the cream and chocolate. Once done, it should be nice and smooth then pour it into a wider dish because it will cool faster. Cover the top with some cling wrap making sure it’s touching the top of the ganache as this will prevent skin from forming as it cools.

Place it in the fridge to chill and set. Preheat your oven to 320F/ 160C then grease or line two 8-inch tins and set them aside. Into a mixing bowl, sift in two and a quarter cups of all-purpose flour, a quarter cup of cornstarch, a teaspoon of baking soda one teaspoon of baking powder and half a teaspoon of salt. Using a whisk, just mix that all together until well combined. In another large bowl, add half a cup of butter, half a cup of unflavored vegetable oil, and one and two-thirds cups of granulated sugar. Using a hand mixer on medium speed, cream that together for two minutes until it’s light and fluffy.

Next, turn your mixer to a low speed and add in three eggs one at a time while beating the mixture well after each addition. Add one and a quarter tablespoons of vanilla, one teaspoon of white vinegar and half a cup of buttermilk. Mix that in well until well combined. Next, you want to add half of the dry ingredients from earlier and gently fold that in with a spatula until just combined. Add one cup of buttermilk and gently fold that in until just combined and then finish off by folding in the remaining dry ingredients until just combined.

You don’t want to overmix the batter so only mix until all the flour disappears. Divide the batter into half then to one-half of the batter sift in a third of a cup of cocoa powder, one teaspoon of instant coffee and one teaspoon of unflavored vegetable oil. Fold that together until nice and smooth. Evenly distribute the batter into the prepared cake tins adding an equal amount of chocolate and vanilla batter in each tin. You can start by placing three tablespoons of the chocolate cake into each cake tin and then just spread it out a little and then on top of that place three tablespoons of vanilla cake batter and gently push it out a little bit then repeat until all the batter is added.

Once done, tap the tins a few times on the counter to remove any trapped air in the batter then bake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Once baked, let the cakes cool in the tins for about 20 minutes then remove them from the tin and turn them onto a wire rack to completely cool. Get the chocolate ganache out of the fridge transfer it into a bowl and whip it with a hand mixer until it reaches stiff peaks. It does come together quite quickly so be careful not to overwhip your cream.

Before layering the cakes, trim the top to make sure they are flat then add a generous amount of chocolate cream over the cake and spread it out then add the second layer and add the cream on top and layer it. Layer the sides and finish by topping with more chocolate piping. Slice and serve. This cake is the best of both worlds, you have then delicious vanilla cake coupled with a rich chocolate cake and a light chocolate frosting. Enjoy…