Marble Cake

If you’re craving something sweet—or have unexpected guests coming over—and you only have the most basic ingredients at home, this is the cake for you! And you’ll be able to enjoy it within a couple of hours!

We love the classic combination of the vanilla and chocolate flavours. However, this recipe has a twist—We’ve included ground almonds, which are not traditionally used in marble cakes. This makes the cake stand out, with a moister, softer texture (and, as an extra, the cake stays fresh for longer). Give it a try!

Ingredients

MAKES ONE 23x13cm LOAF

• 120g unsalted butter, room temperature

• 100g caster sugar

• 75g light brown sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste

• 150g plain flour

• 50g ground almonds

• 3 large eggs

• 3 teaspoons baking powder (about 15g)

• 100ml milk

• 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder (about 8g)

Steps

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.

2. Lightly coat the loaf pan with butter or nonstick spray and dust with some semolina or crushed nuts (alternatively you can line with parchment paper, leaving some overhang on each side).

3. In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy (about 3-4 minutes). Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed.

4. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, making sure all the ingredients are combined before adding the next egg.

5. Add the flour and baking powder to the batter in three batches, alternating with the milk and mixing each addition until just combined.

6. Finally fold in the almonds.

7. Take away 5 spoons into another bowl, add cocoa and mix until fully combined.

8. Pour about half of the yellow batter into the prepared pan. Spoon the cocoa mixture over the top and then pour the second half of the yellow batter. Using a knife, swirl the two batters together.

9. Bake for about 55 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre of the loaf comes out clean. If the top of the loaf is brown but the centre is still wet, loosely cover the top with foil and continue baking until ready.

10. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack.

11. Dust with icing sugar before serving.

Tips

• You can adapt the amount of cocoa powder to suit your taste. Or you can skip it altogether if you’d rather have it plain.

• You can glaze the cake with melted chocolate instead of dusting it with icing sugar.

• For best results, use room temperature ingredients. They will bond together easily, and the batter will be silky and evenly textured.