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    Home » Recipes » German Cake Recipes

    German Marble Cake - Marmorkuchen Recipe

    Published: Feb 6, 2018 · Modified: Jul 3, 2022 by Angela Schofield · 5 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    Learn how to make this wonderful soft and moist German marble pound cake. This cake was my absolute favorite cake as a child and I still love it.

    In Germany, this old fashioned marble pound cake is one of the most popular bundt cakes. Whether it's a birthday celebration, a special event, or just a casual cup of coffee in the afternoon you can find it everywhere.

    german marble cake on a glass cake plate.

    It's perfect for first-time bakers because of how easy it is to make, but it looks like you put a lot of work into it.

    If you love traditional German cakes try out my authentic recipe for Black Forest Cake Recipe, Bee Sting Sponge Cake or homemade German Apple Strudel.

    Try this traditional German bundt cake Gugelhupf if you are a vanilla lover.

    Jump to:
    • Cultural Background
    • Ingredients
    • Instructions
    • Substitutions
    • Variations
    • Equipment
    • Storage
    • Top Tip
    • Video Tutorial
    • Recipe
    • More Marble Pound Cake Recipe Ideas

    Cultural Background

    Since the middle of the 19th century, the recipe for marble cake can be found in cookbooks. However, marbled cakes in their form were mentioned already in the early 18th century.

    How is marble cake called in German?

    Marble cake is called Marmorkuchen (m) in the German language.

    How to pronounce Marmorkuchen in German?

    Click on the play button to learn how to say Marmorkuchen in German.

    Ingredients

    The ingredients for this wonderful cake are humble and you probably already have everything you need in your pantry.

    german marble cake ingredients
    • soft butter
    • sugar
    • vanilla sugar or vanilla extract
    • lemon extract
    • brown rum (optional)
    • eggs
    • salt
    • all-purpose flour
    • baking powder
    • corn starch
    • milk
    • unsweetened cocoa powder

    See recipe card for quantities.

    Instructions

    Follow these easy steps to learn how to make a German marble cake from scratch.

    Seperating Eggs into two bowls

    First, I separate the eggs into two bowls. I use the stand mixer bowl for the egg whites. If you’ve watched other videos, you know, I like as few dirty dishes as possible.

    beating egg whites with sugar to stiff peaks

    Beat the egg whites with salt and ½ cup sugar until stiff peaks form.

    adding soft butter to a stand mixer bowl

    Then add the soft butter, the remaining sugar, vanilla extract, rum and lemon extract to a bowl and beat until light and fluffy. The rum is optional, you could use rum extract alternatively, but I prefer the real thing.  

    adding eggs to marble cake batter

    Now gradually add the eggs yolks while whipping the mixture on low.

    sifting baking powder and flour to a small bowl

    Sift the flour, corn starch and the baking powder into a bowl and mix well.

    Then heat the milk to lukewarm and preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

    adding flour to the bowl of a stand mixer

    Now gradually add about one fourth of flour, milk and egg whites to the egg yolk mixture and repeat until all ingredients are mixed well.

    adding milk to a stand mixer bowl

    Beat on the lowest setting or fold in by hand.

    greasing a bundt cake pan

    Then grease and flour the cake pan. I love to use my homemade non-stick paste, this saves me the flouring part and the cake will slip right out of the pan without any problems.

    adding marble cake batter to a bundt cake pan

    Now you are ready to add ⅔ of the batter to the cake pan.

    adding cacao powder to the marble cake batter

    Sift the cocoa powder to the remaining batter and mix well to a chocolate batter.

    adding chocolate batter and vanilla batter to the bundt cake pan

    Add the chocolate batter to the cake pan.

    swirling the batter of a marble can in a bundt cake pan

    Swirl a fork through the batter to create the marble look.

    baked marble cake in a baking pan

    Bake for about 40 – 50 minutes.

    sifting powdered sugar on a marble cake on a glass cake plate.

    Sprinkle with powdered sugar or brush with a chocolate glaze.

    Hint: Let the cake cool for about 15 minutes before removing from the pan to cool out completely.

    Substitutions

    • Marble pound cake with sour cream - use sour cream instead of milk, this will make your cake wonderful tender and moist.
    • Chocolate marble cake with chocolate ganache- are you a chocoholic? Make this cake triple chocolate. Add chocolate drops to the vanilla part of the cake batter and cover the cake with a rich chocolate ganache.
    • Almond marble cake - use almond extract instead of lemon extract to flavor the vanilla batter.
    • Oil - instead of butter you can use neutral vegetable oil.
    german marble cake with chocolate glaye on a glass cake plate.

    Variations

    Change the flavor profile with these ideas:

    • Coffee - I love the addition of a tablespoon of instant coffee to the cocoa batter. It elevates the chocolate flavor.
    • Cinnamon - add a tablespoon of cinnamon to the cocoa part and the cake will get a wonderful holiday touch.
    • Funfetti - Add sprinkles to the vanilla batter to give this humble marble cake a special birthday look.

    Equipment

    Traditionally German marble cake is baked in a bundt cake pan. But you can find marble cake in German households and bakeries baked in bread pans too.

    german marble cake on a glass cake plate and slices of marble cake on a white plate.

    Storage

    Marble cake tastes best fresh but you still can keep it for several days before it turns dry. Covering the cake with a chocolate ganache will keep the cake longer fresh and moist.

    Top Tip

    Instead of using dark cocoa powder, you can also color one or more parts of the dough with food coloring to create colorful cake combinations.

    Video Tutorial

    Recipe

    open cut marble cake on a glass cake plate decorated with powdered sugar.

    German Marble Cake

    Angela Schofield
    This German Marble cake is a delicious, light, and tender cake that is perfect for any occasion.
    4.83 from 17 votes
    Print Recipe Share on Facebook Pin Recipe
    Prep Time 20 mins
    Cook Time 45 mins
    Total Time 1 hr 5 mins
    Course Cakes
    Cuisine German
    Servings 16 Slices
    Calories 275 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    • 1 cup soft butter
    • 1 ½ cups sugar
    • 1 tbsp. vanilla sugar or vanilla extract
    • 1 tsp. lemon extract
    • 2 tbsp. brown rum optional
    • 6 eggs
    • ¼ tsp. salt
    • 2 cups all-purpose flour
    • 1 tbsp. baking powder
    • 2 tbsp. corn starch
    • ½ cup milk
    • ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

    For the topping:

    • Powdered sugar or chocolate glaze

    Instructions
     

    • Separate the eggs into two bowls.
    • Beat egg whites with salt and ½ cup of sugar until stiff peaks form.
    • Add soft butter, 1 cup sugar, vanilla extract, rum and lemon extract to a bowl and beat until light and fluffy.
    • Gradually add eggs yolks while whipping the mixture on low.
    • Sift flour, corn starch and baking powder into a bowl and mix well.
    • Heat the milk to lukewarm.
    • Gradually add flour, milk and egg whites to the egg yolk mixture. Beat on lowest setting or fold in by hand.
    • Grease cake pan.
    • Add ⅔ of the batter to the cake pan.
    • Sift the cocoa powder to the remaining batter and mix well.
    • Add the batter to the cake pan.
    • Swirl a fork through the batter to create the marble look.
    • Bake at 350 Fahrenheit for 40 – 50 minutes.
    • Let cool for about 15 minutes before removing from the pan to cool out completely.
    • Sprinkle with powdered sugar or brush with a chocolate glaze.

    Nutrition

    Yield: 1SliceCalories: 275kcalCarbohydrates: 34gProtein: 4gFat: 14gFiber: 1gSugar: 19g
    Keyword bundt cake, pound cake
    Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

    More Marble Pound Cake Recipe Ideas

    • Marzipan Pound Cake
    • Nutella Marble Cake
    • German Vanilla Lemon Pound Cake
    • Marble Pudding Cake
    • Marble Cake Loaf

    More German Cake Recipes

    • German Plum Cake - Pflaumenkuchen - Zwetschgendatschi
    • German Strawberry Cake
    • German Fruit Flan - Easy and Fast Obsttorte Recipe
    • German Osterbrot - Osterfladen

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. mira says

      May 03, 2019 at 8:19 pm

      5 stars
      delicious.

      Reply
      • Angela says

        May 04, 2019 at 11:27 am

        Thank you 🙂

        Reply
    2. Anna says

      October 29, 2022 at 6:32 pm

      What cocoa powder would you buy?

      Reply
      • Angela Schofield says

        November 01, 2022 at 11:33 am

        Hi Anna, my favorite it dark unsweetened cocoa powder for Marble cake but some people prefer Dutch cocoa. It is a bit of a preference thing. Hope that helps. Have a wonderful day, Angela

        Reply

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    Guten Tag, I'm Angela,
    Herzlich willkommen! I'm glad you've stopped by.

    It is a joy to share with you some of my all-time favorite authentic German recipes and tell you a little bit about the cultural background of my home country, Germany.

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