This beautifully moist marble bundt cake is sure to impress with its mud cake like texture inside and luscious dark chocolate ganache glaze. It is incredibly simple to make – melt, mix, swirl and then bake!
I really love the understated elegance of this cake and the glossy ganache takes it to the next level. I will say, this is NOT a light and fluffy cake nor is it supposed to be. Instead it has lovely tight crumb akin to a mud cake but not so dense that it makes it heavy. This cake is perfect for afternoon tea or any occasion for that matter. It also keeps really well so it is perfect if you need to bake it in advance. In fact, I find it actually tastes better after a couple of days!
Why you will LOVE this Marble Bundt Cake
- You can make this cake by hand: You don’t need any fancy equipment to make this cake – no electric mixers required! All you will need is a couple of mixing bowls, a whisk and a wooden spoon/spatula.
- It is really simple to make: First, you will need to make the base cake batter (the vanilla part of the marble cake). There is no need to cream the butter and sugar – you simply melt the butter and then combine all of the other ingredients (except the chocolate) and mix by hand. You then add chocolate to half of the cake batter which becomes the chocolate part of the marble cake. Alternate vanilla and chocolate batters in your bundt tin, give it a swirl to create that fabulous marbling and you are good to bake!
- You can really taste the chocolate! You know that disappointment when you have a bite of marble cake and all you taste is vanilla? Not with this cake! This recipe uses melted dark chocolate (and a decent amount of it!) to make the chocolate batter, not cocoa powder. It really makes a difference!
What you will need
Equipment
A couple of mixing bowls, a balloon whisk, spatula or wooden spoon and a 9 inch/23cm diameter bundt tin.
Cake Ingredients
- Plain (all purpose) flour: As we aren’t looking to achieve a light and fluffy texture with this cake (in which case you might use cake and pastry flour), plain (all purpose) flour is all you will need.
- Baking powder: You know how I mentioned that whilst this cake was dense it was in no way heavy? The baking powder is what gives this cake its lift and prevents it from being stodgy.
- Salt: Salt balances out the sweetness and enhances the flavour of this cake, especially the chocolate component.
- Sugar: I use caster (superfine) sugar as that is what I usually have in the pantry. You can substitute with granulated white sugar if that is what you have on hand.
- Unsalted Butter: The butter is what makes this cake so moist and of course it also imparts that beautiful buttery flavour.
- Vanilla: Flavour, flavour, flavour! It also contrasts perfectly with the chocolate part of the marble cake.
- Eggs: Eggs create structure and stability in the cake AND help keep the cake moist.
- Milk: Full cream (whole) milk is best as the higher fat content helps make the cake more tender.
- Chocolate: I like to use dark chocolate with 70% cocoa solids as I love the depth of flavour but you can use any good quality dark chocolate.
Dark Chocolate Ganache Glaze
- Chocolate: As with the cake batter, I prefer to use dark chocolate with 70% cocoa solids as I love the flavour but you can use any good quality dark chocolate you like.
- Unsalted Butter: Butter is what gives this glaze its shine! Oh and it definitely bumps up the luscious factor!
- Water: A touch of water brings the ingredients together.
- Salt: A dash of salt enhances the flavour of the chocolate.
How to make this Marble Bundt Cake
All you need to do is melt, mix, swirl and bake!
- Melt the butter. Set aside. Melt the dark chocolate. Set aside.
- Combine the dry ingredients.
- Combine the wet ingredients (including the melted butter but NOT the melted chocolate).
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix until combined.
- Pour half the batter into the melted chocolate.
- Alternate pouring the chocolate and vanilla batter in the bundt tin. Give it a swirl to create a marbled effect.
- Bake!
Marble Bundt Cake
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 – 55 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 15 minutes (plus cooling time)
- Yield: 12 slices 1x
- Category: Cakes
Description
The beautifully moist marble bundt cake is sure to impress with its mud cake like texture on the inside and luscious chocolate ganache glaze. It is incredibly easy to make – melt, mix, swirl and then bake!
Ingredients
Scale
- 250g (1 cup) unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 100g dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
- 2 1/2 cups (375g) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups (330g) caster (superfine) sugar
- 4 eggs, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups (375ml) full cream (whole) milk
Dark Chocolate Ganache Glaze
- 125g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), coarsely chopped
- 60g unsalted butter
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C conventional or 160C fan-forced. Grease a 9 inch/23 cm bundt tin really well with butter making sure you get into all the crevices.
- In a small heatproof bowl, melt the butter in the microwave in 30 second bursts. Alternatively, melt the butter in small saucepan over low heat. Set aside.
- Place the dark chocolate in a medium sized bowl. Heat in the microwave in 30 second bursts until almost melted. Stir until the chocolate in completely melted. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, add the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Whisk briefly to combine.
- In a separate bowl or large measuring jug whisk the melted butter, eggs, vanilla and milk. Add to the dry ingredients. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, mix until just combined (do not over mix!).
- Pour half of the cake batter into the bowl with the melted chocolate. Mix until combined.
- Pour half of the vanilla batter into the bundt tin followed by half of the chocolate batter. Repeat with the remaining batter (see note 1).
- Using a skewer or small knife swirl figure of eights through the batter.
- Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the tin on a wire rack. Then remove the cake from tin and allow the cake to cool completely on the wire rack.
Make the ganache glaze:
- Combine the chocolate, butter, water and salt in a small saucepan. Heat gently over low heat, stirring until almost melted. Off the heat, stir until completely melted and smooth.
- Set aside to cool slightly. As it cools, the ganache will thicken to a pouring consistency.
- Drizzle over the bundt cake allowing it to run down the sides.
Notes
- Don’t worry too much about the order in which you pour the batters into the tin. I have previously poured ALL of the vanilla batter into the tin first, followed by ALL of the chocolate batter. I swirled as stated in the recipe and I still ended up with a fabulous chocolate swirl through the cake. As long as you don’t mix the batter completely when swirling, you will get a marbled effect.
- Storage: Without the ganache, you can store the bundt cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. Once topped with ganache, store in the fridge for 5 to 7 days. Any unused ganache should be stored in the fridge.
- Freezing: The bundt cake can be frozen, wrapped in clingfilm and foil, for 2 to 3 months.
Keywords: Marble Bundt Cake, Chocolate Ganache Glaze
My first ever Marble Bundt Cake was a big success!!! It was easy to make too! The cake is so light n moist …. I shared it with my friends and they all loved it !
★★★★★