Jump to the Marble Cake with Oil Recipe
Oil. Marble Cake with Oil. Yes, I know, I know, that just sounds… meh. Stay with me a minute though. Oil is not as sexy sounding as butter, I know this, but there is a method to this madness!
Why Use Oil in a Cake?
Why would I make a Marble Cake with Oil instead of butter you may ask? After all butter is delicious isn’t it. Throw in some flour and sugar and you are sure to have a winner. Well, in a nutshell I am a sucker for the nostalgic. My idea of what a good marble cake should be – tender and tea time easy – comes from the many homemade marble cakes my aunt baked as a child. They always had a healthy marbling, were subtly sweet, but not overpowering and so very moist. It is the oil that was always used instead of butter in my childhood bakes that made them so tender.
It was a decision driven from frugality, but it definitely has benefits that extend beyond affordable entertaining. One of the other advantages of using oil instead of butter is that you don’t have to wait for it to come to room temperature. Or do that weird thing I do where I microwave it in 8 second increments, turn the stick over and do it again, fervently hoping it doesn’t actually melt. That is exactly as much fun as it sounds.
The Method
Making this Easy Marble Cake with Oil is fairly straightforward. The detailed recipe is below, but in essence you
- Preheat the oven to 350F and prep your pan
- Beat oil, sugar, and eggs
- Add Vanilla
- Mix in Dry Ingredient – just so, we are not over mixers with their tough chewy cakes!
- Remove one cup of the batter, mix in Chocolate mix.
- Swirl and Bake!
See! Easy! Now this cake is good the day of, but if you wrap it tightly in foil and eat it the next day – my friends, that is just something else! I don’t ever frost it, but you can certainly add your favourite chocolate frosting or ganache.
Please note that this Easy Marble Cake with Oil is substantive because of the eggs, but it is not quite a pound cake. If you are looking for one then two of my favourites are my Nutella Pound Cake and Cream Cheese Pound Cake.
Made this recipe? Rate it right on the recipe card below by clicking the number of stars you want to give it! Have a comment or feedback, just add it below. I love hearing from you guys! If you want to share your baked beauty with me then tag me @flourandspiceblog on Instagram. Can’t wait to see your Marble Cake!
- 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup neutral oil (such as corn oil)
- 1 1/2 cup sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup milk
- 3 tbsp cocoa
- 1 tbsp milk
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Preheat your oven to 350, grease a nonstick loaf tin (9*5)
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Combine the first three ingredients in a bowl, set aside
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Use a mixing bowl to whip the oil, sugar and eggs together on high speed for about two minutes. The mixture will be a creamy pillowy yellow
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Add the vanilla, beat for 30 seconds to combine.
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Alternately add the flour and milk to the bowl in two batches and mix until just combined.
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Put a cup of the batter into a small bowl, add the 3 tbsp cocoa and 1 tbsp milk and mix until just combined.
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The batter for this cake is thin, so carefully add it to the loaf pan, alternating between dollops of vanilla and chocolate batter
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Use a long skewer or a knife to swirl the batter together
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Bake for an hour or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
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