A light and fluffy german Marmorkuchen simply belongs on every coffee table. Or honestly? It just works anytime – whether it’s Sunday, a kid’s birthday, or simply one of those days when you’re craving a good old Gugelhupf.
This recipe is quick to make, with no fuss, and delivers exactly what you want: a tender, aromatic cake that turns out every time. I originally found it in a Johann Lafer cookbook and gave it my own little twist. And that’s exactly how we love this classic marble cake. For us, it’s the perfect treat for a Sunday afternoon – or any day when you need a fast and easy bake..
German Marmorkuchen- easy and delicious
Just a heads up: I use grams and Celsius degrees in all my recipes, as I’m based in Germany.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 250 g soft butter and a bit extra to grease Bundt form
- 250 g flour
- 150 g sugar
- 4 pieces eggs room temperatur
- 25 ml milk
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 drops drops vanilla extract
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 3 Tbsp cacao powder
- 1 splash milk
- Powdered sugar to dust
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 180 °C and grease baking form with butter
- In a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat butter, vanilla extract and sugar until light and fluffy -roughly 4 minutes.
- Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Combine the flour, baking powder and salt and sieve into the batter.
- Mix the batter thoroughly
- Add milk and combine.
- Pour half of the batter in the Bundt form.
- Mix the cacao powder and the extra splash of milk in the remaining batter and pour the mixture in the Bundt form over the first dough.
- Blend the mixtures using a fork to get the marbled look.
- Bake at 180 °C, until a toothpick inserted near centre comes out clean, 40-45 min.
- Cool for 15 minutes and remove from the Bundt form to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Dust with powdered sugar and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional values are automatically calculated – I use them as a rough guide myself when I want to keep track.
Disclaimer
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Little effort, big effect
To make sure your marble cake rises beautifully and stays nice and moist, there are a few simple tricks worth knowing:
• Cake stuck in the pan? No stress. Just place a cold, damp kitchen towel over the tin, wait five minutes – and most of the time it releases on its own.
• Butter and eggs at room temperature. Sounds like a small thing, but it makes a huge difference. It’s the secret to a smooth and creamy batter.
• Forgot the extra butter for greasing? I just use the empty butter wrapper – there’s always a bit left. Saves waste and works perfectly.
And here’s your step-by-step direction for this amazing marble cake
Start by preheating your oven to 180°C (top/bottom heat). While that’s happening, grease your Gugelhupf tin thoroughly – my tip: use the butter wrapper to save both time and mess.
Next, beat the room-temperature butter with sugar until creamy – take your time here, a good 3–5 minutes. Then add the eggs one at a time (also at room temp!), beating well between each. In a separate bowl, mix the flour with baking powder and a pinch of salt. Add that to the batter along with the milk and mix everything briefly until smooth.
Now divide the batter – a bit more than half stays plain. Mix the rest with cocoa powder, a splash of milk until you have a smooth chocolate mixture. Spoon the plain batter into the tin, add the chocolate batter on top, and swirl it lightly with a fork from bottom to top to create that lovely marbled pattern.
Bake the cake for around 40–45 minutes. Check doneness with a skewer near the end – every oven is different. Let the cake cool in the tin for about 10 minutes. And if it won’t come out? Drape that cold, damp towel over the tin, wait five minutes – and voilà, it usually comes right out.
German Marmorkuchen as a birthday cake
It also became our to go to birthday cake. I bake it as per the recipe below only in a round baking tray, whole sheet pan or loaf tin. The only thing I adjust is the baking time. And of course the decoration. You can add glitter, make it a number cake or, my personal favourite, a butterfly. The German marble cake is super versatile.
Thank you, Pinterest, for inspiring me!
As you can see, we clearly love our German Marmorkuchen! And it is one of these flavours which brings back childhood memories…
Love
Sabrina 💛
I never had such an fluffy and delicious marble cake before. amazing recipe!
Thank you my dear!
Great recipe , need to change baking soda to baking powder, it’s corrected in the ingredients but. Not in the text
I also use 5 eggs
Hi Marc- thanks for the heads up! Will do. Happy baking 🙌