High Altitude Marble Cake with Chocolate Drip

A high altitude recipe for a marble cake, with layers of chocolate and vanilla cake batter swirled together, frosted with vanilla buttercream and finished with rich dark chocolate ganache drip and French macarons. There’s no need to choose between chocolate cake and vanilla cake when you can combine both in this delicious and classic recipe.

You might also like these high altitude cake recipes for vanilla cake, chocolate cake, and fresh strawberry cake.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Chocolate + Vanilla Cake. I’m a big fan of both vanilla and chocolate cake, and sometimes it’s hard to decide between them. With a marble cake, you get a taste of both, and the cake looks so pretty with the light and dark swirls.

Only One Cake Batter. It would be cruel of me to make you make two cake batters, so you’ll be relieved to know that you only make one batter for this cake. You’ll be starting with my best vanilla cake batter, then adding a mixture of cocoa powder and hot water to a small portion of the vanilla batter to make a chocolate batter. The whole process is quick, easy and fuss free!

High Altitude Tested. I test every recipe on this site at Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet, so high altitude bakers can be assured of consistent, reliable results.

See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.

Ingredients

Cake

• Cocoa Powder. Choose a good quality Dutch processed cocoa powder for the best chocolate flavor.
• Hot Water. You’ll be using this to “bloom” the cocoa powder before stirring it into the vanilla cake batter to make the chocolate swirl.
• Cake Flour. Cake flour makes a very soft, light and fluffy vanilla cake, as it contains a lower percentage of protein than all-purpose flour.
• Granulated Sugar. Adds sweetness and moisture.
• Baking Powder. Leavens the cake, making it rise.
• Coarse Kosher Salt. Balances the sweetness.
• Eggs + Egg Whites. I use 2 eggs, plus 2 egg whites, in my vanilla cake, which adds structure and richness, while the extra whites make it nice and fluffy. Save the leftover 2 egg yolks for another use.
• Buttermilk. Adds richness and acidity for a light, fluffy, tender cake crumb.
• Melted Butter + Vegetable Oil. A combination of both butter and oil gives this vanilla cake the best flavor as well as a soft, moist texture.
• Vanilla Extract. Flavor.

Buttercream

• Unsalted Butter. Makes a rich, fluffy, silky buttercream.
• Powdered Sugar. Sweetens and thickens the buttercream.
• Meringue Powder. Stabilizes the buttercream and improves the texture.
• Salt. Balances the sweetness.
• Vanilla Extract. Flavor.

Ganache

• Heavy Whipping Cream. You need the high fat content of heavy whipping cream to make a rich, creamy ganache.
• Chocolate. Choose a good quality dark chocolate, around 50-60% cacao for a deep chocolate flavor.

Instructions

Cake

• Preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven. Grease the bottoms of three 8-inch cake pans with nonstick baking spray.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the cocoa powder and hot water until smooth. Set aside.

TIP: This step “blooms” the cocoa powder to bring out the richness of the chocolate, and the hot water adds moisture so that the chocolate cake swirl isn’t dry.

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• In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt, then whisk until well combined.
• In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, egg whites, buttermilk, melted butter, oil and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and whisk just until combined, about 10-15 seconds.

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TIP: It may not seem like you have enough chocolate batter for the chocolate swirl, but trust me that you don’t need much. The majority of the cake batter in a marble cake should be vanilla, with just a small amount of chocolate, otherwise the chocolate swirl will muddy the color of the whole cake.

• Remove 3/4 cup of the vanilla cake batter, and stir in the cocoa powder mixture to make a chocolate batter, so that you have a large bowl of vanilla cake batter and a small bowl of chocolate cake batter.

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• Spoon about 1/2 cup of the vanilla cake batter into each of the cake pans. Add about 2 tablespoons of the chocolate batter right in the center of the vanilla batter. Repeat with another 1/2 cup of vanilla cake batter in the center of the chocolate batter – it will make the chocolate batter spread out into a ring. Repeat with another 2 tablespoons of chocolate batter. Continue alternating vanilla and chocolate batter in each of the pans, until you’ve used up all the batter.
• Now use a toothpick to gently and briefly swirl the two batters together; you don’t want to blend the batter too much.

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• Bake the cakes for about 21-25 minutes, until the tops spring back when gently touched and a toothpick comes out clean.
• Set the pans on a cooling rack, cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel, and cool completely.

Buttercream

• In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the butter for 1 minute until smooth.
• With the mixer running on low, add the powdered sugar by spoonfuls, the meringue powder and the salt, mixing until thick and combined. Add the vanilla.
• Increase speed to medium and whip for 4-5 minutes, scraping the bowl down several times, until light and fluffy. Turn the speed down to “stir” and mix for 1 more minute.

• Remove the cooled cakes from the pans. Stack and fill the cakes with the buttercream, then frost with a crumb coat.
• Chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes, then frost all over with a smooth coat of buttercream. For tips, see How to Stack, Fill, Crumb Coat and Frost Layer Cakes.
• Chill the frosted cake in the refrigerator while you make the ganache.
• Save any leftover buttercream to pipe on top of the cake after covering it with ganache.

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Ganache

• Pour the cream into a saucepan and warm over medium heat just until hot, and beginning to simmer around the edges.
• Remove the cream from the heat and stir in the chopped chocolate until smooth. Let cool for 5 minutes.

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• Pour the ganache on top of the cake, then use a small offset icing spatula to gently spread it out, nudging it towards the edges so it drips down the sides of the cake. Let the ganache set for about 15 minutes, before decorating the top.
• Fit a piping bag with tip 1M, and fill with the remaining buttercream. Pipe a few buttercream swirls on top of the ganache, and decorate with French macarons, chocolate squares, or chopped chocolate.

Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common questions with cake making, so that you can be successful in your own baking! I also suggest reading these comprehensive posts on making Perfect American Buttercream, How to Stack, Fill, Crumb Coat and Frost Layer Cakes and How to Use Piping Bags.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do you make such a small amount of chocolate cake batter?

Since a marble cake is made with vanilla and chocolate cake batters swirled together, you might think you need half chocolate and half vanilla. But this will make a very muddy looking cake, with no visible streaks of white left. So trust me that you only want to add the cocoa powder mixture to a very small amount of the vanilla cake batter. Then make sure you don’t blend the two together too much.

What should I use if I don’t have cake flour?

If you can’t find cake flour at your local grocery store or Walmart, you can also buy cake flour online. In a pinch, you can make your own cake flour. Measure out 1 cup of all-purpose flour using the spoon and sweep method. Remove 2 tablespoons of flour, and replace with 2 tablespoons of corn starch. Whisk together until thoroughly combined.

How long will this marble cake stay moist?

If you keep it in an airtight container, this marble cake will stay moist for about 3 days.

Can I cut this recipe in half?

Yes, you can easily halve this recipe, and bake the batter in three 6-inch pans for about 18-20 minutes.

Can I make this recipe even if I don’t live at high altitude?

Yes, many people who are not at high altitude have tried and loved my cake recipes. If you’re at sea level, you may need to make a few slight modifications, such as reducing the flour by 2-4 tablespoons, and increasing the baking powder from 3 tsp to 4 tsp. I live in Denver, which has an altitude of 5,280 feet, so if you live significantly higher than that (more than 1,000 feet higher), you might need to make a few minor adjustments, such as increasing the flour a bit more, and decreasing the baking powder a little. Please read this post on guidelines for adjusting cake recipes for various altitudes.

What cocoa powder did you use for the chocolate cake swirl?

Use a good-quality Dutch-processed cocoa powder for the best flavor. My personal favorite cocoa powders to use are Rodelle, Drost, Cacao Barry Extra Brute, and King Arthur Baking Company.

Did you make the macarons?

I do sometimes make macarons, and you can see my recipe posts for vanilla macarons and chocolate macarons. But I did not make the ones pictured on today’s cake. My grocery store carries frozen macarons that I like to keep on hand for an easy way to decorate a cake, and that’s what I used on this marble cake.

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