This easy marble pound cake is moist, fluffy, and delicious. One of the easiest pound cake recipes to make, this bread is excellent as a snack with a cup of coffee or milk.
There's nothing quite like the smell of fresh-baked goods in the kitchen. The aroma of a warm, homemade loaf of marble bread can fill your home with a comforting feeling that can only be found in the act of baking.
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💝 Why You Should Make The Recipe
- Perfect for any occasion: brunch, potlucks, holidays, or school snacks. It’s also great for travel; slice and pack individually for trips. Easy to make, it combines rich cocoa and vanilla flavors for a delicious, impressive treat. It is also the perfect addition to a cup of tea or coffee.
- Easy and simple to follow. For those who are new to baking, the recipe is easy enough to handle.
- Pantry ingredients: This recipe uses common household items, so you won't have to worry about making a special trip to the store.
- Versatile: The recipe is versatile and can be customized to your liking. You can add nuts or change up the flavors to suit your taste.
Related: Try these other recipes on my website, like this Blueberry Orange Bread With Walnuts or this Low Sugar Bread with Dried Fruits and Nuts!
🙋♀️ What Is A Pound Cake?
A pound cake is a type of cake that traditionally consists of a pound of each of four main ingredients: flour, butter, sugar, and eggs. The result is a dense, rich, and buttery cake with a fine crumb texture.
While my marble cake recipe does not strictly follow the traditional pound cake recipe, it does share some similarities. The use of eggs, sugar, and flour is common in both recipes, but my recipe uses a smaller amount of cocoa powder to create the marble look, and walnuts for flavor and texture.
It also uses oil instead of butter, and some cold water, which also helps to keep the bread from becoming too dry. Oil is a great alternative to butter in baked goods, especially when it comes to making moist and tender cakes and breads. While butter provides a rich and flavorful taste, oil can give a lighter and more delicate texture to baked goods.
This is because oil has a higher fat content and does not contain water or milk solids, which can weigh down the batter or dough.
Overall, the texture and taste of this bread are different from traditional pound cake due to the additional ingredients and different ratios used in the recipe.
📝 What ingredients do you need for this recipe
(For the exact ingredient amounts, please scroll to the bottom of the article to reach a printable recipe card.)
- Granulated sugar: This sugar is commonly used in baking to add sweetness and texture to baked goods.
- Eggs: A protein-rich ingredient that helps to bind the other ingredients together and provide structure to the bread.
- Vegetable oil: You need a neutral-flavored oil that is commonly used in baking to add moisture and tenderness to baked goods.
- Cold water: Helps to keep the bread moist and tender.
- Baking powder: A leavening agent that helps to make the bread rise to become light and fluffy.
- All-purpose flour: A versatile flour that is commonly used in baking to provide structure to baked goods.
- Vanilla extract: A flavorful and aromatic liquid that is commonly used in baking to add a sweet and fragrant taste to baked goods.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder: A chocolate-flavored powder that is commonly used in baking to add a rich and deep chocolate flavor to baked goods.
- Chopped walnuts: An optional ingredient that adds a crunchy texture and nutty flavor to the bread. If you don't have any walnuts on hand, you can replace them with pecans or almonds.
If you want to add some extra flavor, you can also add a pinch of cinnamon or nutmeg.
👩🍳 How To Make The Recipe
- Preheat your oven to 350F and grease a loaf pan with butter or oil. Slightly dust it with flour and set it aside.
- In a large bowl, using an electric hand mixer on medium speed or a whisk beat the eggs with sugar until smooth and fluffy.
- Add the vegetable oil, cold water, and vanilla extract, and continue to mix.
- In a separate medium bowl, mix the flour and baking powder together, and then add them to the batter.
- If desired, add the chopped nuts.
- Grab a separate bowl and split the batter into two parts. Mix one part with the cocoa powder and set it aside.
- Pour the other half of the batter into the prepared pan using a rubber spatula to clean the bowl. Add the cocoa batter on top of the vanilla batter.
- Grab a fork or a spoon and swirl your cocoa batter to create patterns in the pan and obtain the marble effect.
- Bake at 350F for 30-45 mins or until the toothpick or a cake tester comes out clean and the loaf is golden brown on top.
- Carefully remove the bread from the pan and place it on a cooling rack. You can dust it with some powdered sugar if you like.
- Slice the bread with a serrated knife and serve at room temperature.
🙋♀️ FAQs:
This recipe works best with all-purpose flour, but you can use other types of flour, such as whole wheat flour or gluten-free flour. Keep in mind that the texture and flavor of the bread may be slightly different.
Yes, you can omit the nuts if you prefer. The bread will still taste great without them.
Yes, you can use other types of oil, such as canola oil or coconut oil. Just make sure to use an oil that is liquid at room temperature.
📦 How To Store
To store the marble pound cake, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil and store it in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. You can also store it in the refrigerator for up to a week.
If you want to freeze the bread, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and then in aluminum foil before placing it in the freezer. It will keep for up to 3 months in the freezer.
Enjoy, and let me know if you like it! And if you do, maybe you want to take a look at this Sour Cherries Sweet Cornbread, too.
More Recipes To Love:
- Cocoa Walnuts Banana Bread Recipe
- Pound Cake With Fruit And Almond Flakes
- Easy Banana-Buttermilk Pancakes
- Pumpkin Seed And Apricot Pumpkin Sweet Bread
- Best Thanksgiving and Christmas Turkey Recipes
📖 Recipe
Easy Marble Pound Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 5 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 5 tablespoons cold water
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts Optional
- 1 tablespoon powdered sugar for dusting the cake
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and grease a loaf pan with butter or oil.
- With an electric mixer or a whisk, beat the eggs with sugar until smooth and fluffy.
- Add the vegetable oil, the cold water, and vanilla extract, and keep mixing.
- Mix the flour and baking powder together and add them to the batter.
- Optional, add the chopped nuts.
- Split the batter into two parts.
- Use one part to mix it with the cocoa powder. Set aside.
- Pour the other half of the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
- Add the cocoa batter on top of the white mixture.
- Grab a fork or a spoon and swirl your cocoa batter to create patterns in the pan.
- Bake at 350F for 30-45 mins or until the toothpick comes clean and the loaf is golden brown on top.
- Carefully remove the bread from the pan and place it on a rack to cool.
- Slice the bread with a serrated knife and serve at room temperature. Optional, dust it with powdered sugar before serving.
Notes
Expert Tips
- Room temperature ingredients: Make sure all of your ingredients are at room temperature before starting. This will help the ingredients mix together more easily and evenly.
- Electric mixer or whisk: Use either one of them to beat the eggs and sugar until they are smooth and fluffy. This will help incorporate air into the mixture, resulting in a lighter, fluffier bread.
- Sift flour with baking powder: When mixing the flour and baking powder, be sure to mix them together thoroughly before adding them to the batter. The easiest way is to sift the dry ingredients. This will help prevent lumps and ensure that the bread rises evenly.
- Avoid dry pockets of cocoa powder: When adding the cocoa powder to the batter, be sure to mix it in thoroughly to avoid any dry pockets of cocoa powder in the finished bread.
- Don't overmix the batter. When swirling the cocoa batter into the white batter, use a spoon or fork to create a marble effect. Don't overmix, or the bread will lose its marble appearance.
Ana says
This dessert is easy to make and perfect for any day. I make it for a number of years and love the simplicity of it.
Gigi says
I love this cake. My mom used to make this for me when I was little and I always loved it. It’s so tasty with a cup of tea, coffee or hot chocolate. Yum!