Marmorkuchen (Marble Bundt Cake)

Marmorkuchen or marble cake is a moist chocolate and vanilla marble bundt cake, topped with a chocolate ganache glaze – perfect for any time of day!

Marmorkuchen has been one of my favorite cakes for a long time. It’s the kind of cake you can eat anytime, not just for a birthday or celebration. Eat it for breakfast, with your coffee, or for dessert – my Oma has it sitting out at every meal!

Marmorkuchen is the German name for a marble cake – this one specifically is baked in a bundt pan. These cakes can often be dry, but with the addition of sour cream this bundt cake is anything but!

How to make Marble Cake moist?

To make marmorkuchen moist, it comes down to two things. The first is to use sour cream in the batter, this helps to add richness and moisture to the batter. The second is to not over bake it. After 45 minutes check the cake, it should be golden brown and a toothpick should come out clean when inserted in the center.

Can you freeze Marmorkuchen?

Yes! I prefer to cut the slices, wrap them in plastic and then place the wrapped slices into a resealable freezer bag. They will keep for up to 1 month in the freezer and can be defrosted in the fridge or at room temperature.

Tips for Making Marmorkuchen

• Prep the ingredients for the chocolate batter before starting the rest of the cake batter.
• Make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature – this will help get a smooth and fluffy cake batter.
• When adding the cocoa powder, milk, and melted chocolate into the batter be sure that the milk is warm so that it doesn’t shock and harden the chocolate when they are added together.
• To make sure the bundt cake comes out of the pan cleanly – spray the pan with a baking spray that also has flour in it, or grease the pan and then coat it with flour. Either of these methods will help to cleanly turn the marmorkuchen out.
• Let the cake cool for 10 minutes before turning it out. This will help it to hold together rather than split, or fall apart.

Additional Cake Recipes to try!

• Chocolate Mousse Torte
• Kalter Hund
• Sachertorte Loaf Cake

Ingredients

• All Purpose Flour: Any all purpose flour will work for this marmorkuchen! I have not yet tried any other flours with this recipe.
• Baking Soda & Baking Powder: These both help make the cake rise – make sure to check the expiration date! If they are expired, they won’t be very effective.
• Cocoa Powder: Both dutch processed and natural cocoa powder will work here.
• Vanilla Extract: Vanilla adds flavor and enhances the chocolate.
• Eggs: I use standard large eggs from the store.
• Sugar: This marmorkuchen loaf only uses granulated sugar in the cake batter.
• Sour Cream: Sour cream adds richness and moisture to the cake. You can also use full fat greek yogurt.
• Butter: Butter adds moisture and richness to this cake.
• Dark Chocolate: The dark chocolate is for the ganache glaze as well as the chocolate cake portion. Make sure that it is at least semi-sweet or dark chocolate rather than milk chocolate.
• Milk: Any milk or non-dairy milk will work for this recipe.
• Heavy Cream: This can be either heavy cream or heavy whipping cream – it is melted with the dark chocolate to create the ganache glaze.

How to make Marble Bundt Cake?

• Preheat the oven to 350 F or 325 F if convection.

Prepare the Chocolate

• Finely chop the semi-sweet chocolate, place in a microwave and heat on short intervals – stirring frequently – until the chocolate is fully melted. Set aside to cool while you prep the rest of the batter.

Chocolate and Vanilla cake batter

• In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Then add in the remaining ingredients. Using a paddle attachment beat the ingredients on high for two minutes until light and fluffy.
• Pour half of the batter into a second mixing bowl. Then add the melted chocolate, cocoa powder and milk into the bowl of the stand mixer with the remaining cake batter. Mix again until fully combined – scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.

Assemble and Bake the Marmorkuchen

• Prepare a bundt pan. Then using a quarter cup measure, scoop in 4 scoops of the vanilla batter (evenly spaced) around the pan. Then, add in 4, 1/4 cup scoops of the chocolate batter in between the vanilla scoops.
• Add more chocolate scoops on top of the vanilla and add vanilla scoops on top of the chocolate. Smooth out the batter and bake on the rack, just below center, in the oven for 45-50 min. Rotate the cake halfway through to prevent uneven browning.
• When the cake is finished baking, check it by sticking a toothpick into the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, the cake is finished.
• Remove the cake from the oven and leave it to cool for 10 minutes before flipping it out.

Chocolate Ganache Glaze

• Finely chop the chocolate and place in a heat proof bowl.
• Heat the heavy cream until it is almost boiling, pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate and let sit for one minute before whisking to combine.
• If the ganache seems too thin, leave it to cool for a few minutes before glazing the cake.