Chocolate Vanilla Marble Cake (Gâteau marbré)

This Chocolate Vanilla Marble Cake is typically what we call a “Gâteau régréssif” in France – meaning it makes you feel like a kid again. With a buttery and tender crumb and beautiful chocolate and vanilla swirls, this is a staple French afternoon snack for kids and adults alike. Ready for this childhood favorite?

What is a Marble Cake, or “gâteau marbré”?

A Marble cake, or a Gâteau Marbré as we say in French, is a popular cake characterized by its marble appearance, that we achieve by swirling together two different batters.

Mixing a chocolate batter with a vanilla-flavored batter is by far the most traditional take, and the one I am sharing here with you today. In taste, a marble cake is tender and buttery, with hints of both vanilla and chocolate from the two batters.

Growing up in France, most kids (myself included) would often snack on hefty slices of “Savane“, an iconic French store brand chocolate-vanilla Marble Cake. Seeing a loaf of “Savane” sitting on the kitchen table after school was simply the best! Now as an adult, I still love a hefty slice of marble cake in the afternoon, and love to recreate this recipe at home. 

It’s a great recipe to have in your baking repertoire, as it is both delicious and classically suitable for any occasion – be it a child’s “goûter” (after-school snack) or a fancier tea time gathering.

Why you’ll love this recipe

If you love nostalgic, comforting and easy cake recipes, you’ll love this one!

This is the recipe I make over and over again, whenever I yearn for a taste from my childhood. I’ve had this recipe for years in my repertoire, and never really needed to change it as I think it’s simply perfect as is.

Although this marble cake recipe has been on the blog since 2018, it is still going strong, with a plethora great recent reviews!

This recipe yields a buttery, moist marble cake, with eye-catching swirls. It remains moist for several days, making it a great snack cake to leave on the counter.

Ingredients you’ll need to make this Marble Cake

This recipe is made with simple and affordable ingredients and simple techniques. Here is an overview of your need.

• Butter. Unsalted butter is best. The butter also needs to be at room temperature when you use it, so make sure you take it out of the fridge at least 1 hour beforehand.
• Sugar. White sugar is best.
• Eggs. We need exactly 165g of eggs for this recipe, which is about 3 eggs. See my notes in the FAQs below for how to get exactly 165g of egg. Make sure you use eggs that are at room temperature.
• Flour. All-purpose flour is the way to go for a traditional French “gâteau marbré”.
• Milk. Use 2% mf or whole milk for best results.
• Vanilla extract. A splash of vanilla extract is used to flavor the vanilla half of the batter.
• Cocoa powder. This is used to flavor the other half of the batter. Use unsweetened cocoa powder, ideally labelled as “premium”.

Frequently Asked Questions

My 3 eggs weigh more than 165gr, what do I do?

The French are sticklers for measurements, and for good reason – it helps massively with consistency. If your eggs weigh more than 165gr, beat them in the bowl and remove the excess with a spoon. Remember, when you measure, your chances of success increase greatly!

Which brand of cocoa powder do you recommend?

This one is completely up to you! Every country I’ve lived in has different brands available to them. There doesn’t seem to be brands that “cross borders” too often. Not only that, every cocoa powder gives a different taste profile – some more chocolatey or fruity than others. It all depends on what you like. I love to google brand reviews when I’m at the store to see what others say about a product that I’m not familiar with.

Ghirardelli, Van Hooten and Fry’s cocoa powder are brands I used often when living in North America. Make sure you use unsweetened cocoa powder, or the cake will end up too sweet.

Can I reduce the amount of sugar in the cake?

I’ll start by saying “no”, but ultimately let you decide. Sugar does a lot more than just sweeten a cake, it does many things like aerate the batter (during the creaming process), it reduces the formation of gluten (making for a more tender cake), and also helps keep the cake moister, longer.

All that being said, if you want to try reducing the sugar, feel free! But, be aware that it will have an effect on the taste and texture of the cake, depending on how much reduction has been done. In general, reducing by a maximum of a third of the sugar is recommended.

How to store leftovers

• At room temperature: After making this cake – if you have any leftovers – you can cover it with plastic film and keep it on the counter for up to 5 days.
• Freeze : You can also freeze the cake. Make sure it is cooled to room temperature, wrap it very well with plastic film and freeze for up to 2 months. For thawing, simply leave it on your countertop for several hours.

Audrey’s tips

• Make sure all your ingredients are at room temperature, especially the butter and eggs. This helps create a tender, moist texture.
• This is a simple recipe, but you need to be very precise with weighing your ingredients. As with many French baking recipes, I strongly recommend using a scale (we the French measure everything in grams). This is especially important for the eggs – you need 165g exactly.
• I recommend you sift the cocoa powder when you add it into your batter, to prevent any lumps from getting in. Cocoa lumps are difficult to break apart in a batter.
• We traditionally bake a Marble cake in a loaf tin in France. I think this is the best shape to showcase the marbled swirls.

I hope you’ll love this Chocolate Vanilla Marble Cake as much as I do! If you have any questions, please leave a comment. 

More cake recipes to try: 

• Lemon Poppy Seed Yogurt Loaf
• Orange Yogurt Cake
• Olive Oil Dark Chocolate Cake 
• Classic French Apple Cake
• Classic French Pear Cake
• Walnut Coffee Cake (Gâteau Grenoblois)
• Chestnut Cream Cake (Gâteau Ardéchois) 
• French-style Fruit Cake
• Olive Oil Lemon Cake

Chocolate Vanilla Marble Cake

Print Recipe

Serves: 8-10 people Prep Time: 20 Minutes Cooking Time: 50 minutes 50 minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 3.8/5

( 119 voted )

Ingredients

2/3 cup (150g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup (200g) sugar
165g eggs (3 eggs)*
2 cups (235g) all purpose flour
1 ½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp kosher salt
¼ cups (60g) milk (2% m.f or whole)
2 tsp (8.5ml) vanilla extract
3 tsbp (22g) unsweetened cocoa powder + 1 tbsp (15ml) milk
*Whisk the eggs together in a small bowl and weight them. Adjust if needed: remove some of the egg mixture to get 165g exactly.

Instructions

Preheat oven to 390°F (200°C). Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan with butter and dust with flour.

Step 1 - Using a spatula or a whisk, cream butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add in the eggs and mix until well incorporated.

Step 2 - In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Combine with the wet ingredients, and mix until just incorporated. Add in the 60g of milk, and mix until just incorporated.

Step 3 - Divide the batter in two separate bowls. In the first bowl, stir in the vanilla extract. In the second bowl, stir in the cocoa powder with one tablespoon of milk.

Step 4 - Using a large spoon, dollop about 1/3 of a cup of the vanilla batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly along the bottom. Using another large spoon, dollop the same amount of chocolate batter in the middle, and spread it out (pushing it down slightly in the middle and leaving some of the vanilla cake mix visible all around the edges).

Repeat with a layer of vanilla cake mix, and then a layer of chocolate cake mix (always pushing the batter slightly in the middle, and leaving some of the batter underneath visible around the edges – to create that wavy marbled pattern when sliced). Repeat, alternating the layers, until all the batter is used. To create marbling, run a sharp knife through the batter, vertically along the length of your loaf pan, forming a "S". 

Step 5 - Bake for 10 minutes. Lower the heat to 350°F (180°C) and bake for 40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.

Transfer to a cooling rack, and let cool at least 15 minutes before removing from the pan and slicing.

This article was posted on September 26, 2018 and updated on March 6, 2024, with new photos.