Perfectly moist and shareable, this classic Marble Pound Cake Recipe will quickly become a staple in your kitchen!
Two defining characteristics of Israeli culture are hospitality and spontaneity. Put those together, and you end up with a lot of guests that just pop by for coffee and cake! As a host, you’d typically offer tea or coffee along with some kind of cake or cookie, either homemade or store-bought.
Want more easy cake recipes? Check out:
Roots of Marble Pound Cake
Growing up in Israel, marble pound cake (often store-bought) was a staple in almost every household for just those occasions. The cake usually sat out on the kitchen counter, as family members would casually slice away over the course of a few days.
Traditional pound cake originates from England, but the sweet, dense loaf also has very strong roots in Jewish and Israeli culture. Not so strange, the term for “loaf pan” in Hebrew is actually “English Cake” pan. In many homes, a simple loaf pound cake is prepared on Thursday night or Friday morning to nosh on after the Friday night meal. Any remnants of the cake are usually eaten as a sweet treat after a Shabbat lunch, when friends often stop by for coffee. A good pound cake recipe can be passed on for generations and is something to really cherish.
What is Marble Pound Cake?
Marble Pound Cake is traditionally chocolate and vanilla cake batter swirled together in a 9″ x 5″ loaf pan. This version doesn’t contain butter, but has oil instead, which creates a really moist dense and delicious pound cake.
Ingredients
- unbleached all purpose flour – I always use unbleached all purpose flour in my recipes. Specifically King Arthur Baking Company. I really appreciate their attention to quality and detail, I love the consistent results.
- baking powder – baking powder is a leavener that helps the cake rise. The chemicals are activated with heat, so the cake starts rising once it’s in the oven.
- kosher salt – I always use Morton’s. Adding salt to your sweet baked goods is actually really important. The salt doesn’t make the cake taste salty, but just enhances the flavor of the other ingredients (vanilla and chocolate).
- granulated sugar – I love using Domino Golden sugar because it’s less processed, and has caramel flavor notes.
- eggs – for all of my recipes I use large AA organic eggs. Better yet, try to find some fresh local eggs. Their yolks should be bright orange, and they add incomparable richness to any bake.
- whole milk – I like the richness of whole milk. For a non-dairy version of this cake, feel free to substitute a nut milk or oat milk.
- almond extract – maybe a bit unexpected, but the almond extract gives the marble cake its signature flavor. Almond extract also enhances the flavor of the chocolate!
- unsweetened cocoa powder – make sure that you’re using unsweetened, and either Dutch-processed or regular work well here. Some of favorite brands are Valrhona and Guittard.
Tools I use:
How to make pound cake
This pound cake is actually very simple to make, and doesn’t require any fancy equipment! Start by mixing up your wet ingredients in a large mixing bowl with a whisk until thoroughly combines.
Then, add your dry ingredients to the bowl, and whisk until just combined. Don’t over-mix so that you don’t develop the gluten in the flour.
Pour half of the batter into a greased loaf pan. Then, add cocoa powder and instant coffee to the remaining batter, for the chocolate part of the marble cake. Pour the chocolate batter on top of the vanilla batter.
Use a knife or a skewer to create swirls and that signature marble pattern. Don’t overdue it here, you’ll still want to see the distinctive colors.
Substitutions
This recipe calls for milk for its richness and flavor, so the cake is dairy. If you’d like to make it non-dairy, simply substitute soy or almond milk.
Make sure to tag me @lions.bread on Instagram and comment below if you make this Marble Pound Cake. I love seeing my recipes come to life in your kitchens!
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Marble Pound Cake
Moist and marbled vanilla and chocolate poundcake
Ingredients
- 2 ⅓ cups unbleached all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 ¼ teaspoons kosher salt
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 3 large eggs plus one egg yolk
- ⅔ cup whole milk
- ¾ cup grapeseed or avocado/vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9×5″ loaf pan with parchment paper and spray with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar.
- In a medium-sized bowl, combine the eggs, milk, vanilla extract, almond extract, and oil. Whisk to thoroughly combine until becomes light in color, about 2 minutes.
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and pour the egg and milk mixture into the well. Whisk until thoroughly combined, about 1-2 minutes.
- Pour half of the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Add the unsweetened cocoa powder and instant coffee to the remaining batter.
- Whisk to fully incorporate the cocoa powder, removing any lumps.
- Gently pour the chocolate batter over the vanilla batter, and use a skewer or knife to create a marble pattern. Don’t overdo it. You still want to see distinct colors.
- Bake for 50-55 minutes, until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs.
- Allow the cake to cool completely in the pan before removing.