Marble Loaf Pound Cake
Happy Monday to my favorite band of butter and sugar pushers! Is your week off to a joyful start? Has January been treating you well?
Here in Alabama, we are experiencing one of the coldest winters of all time. (I’m talking icicles-hanging-off-your-car cold. Frozen-boogers-crusted-on-your-kid’s-face cold. Wearing-two-bras-to-hide-your-nipples cold.) We’ve been trapped inside for a few weeks now, and if the icy weather doesn’t get to you, being stuck inside with stir-crazy children probably does.
The past few days have been spent building fires, watching reruns of “Mickey Mouse Clubhouse,” and carb-loading from our positions on the couch. Of course my kids have loved these new winter privileges, but to be honest, being stuck inside with two tiny humans that are cracked out on cartoons and Teddy Grahams is pretty close to mental purgatory. The combination of boredom and pent-up energy is constantly at risk of combusting into a tornado of toys in the living room, food fights, or temper tantrums. Winter-pocolypse indeed.
Marble Loaf Pound Cake
To stay busy, I’ve been baking up a storm. Save for a few cookies that burned while I was scraping peanut butter toast off the couch, these snow days have proved to be perfect baking weather, and I (with the exception of my waistline) am relishing it. Case and point: this marble loaf pound cake.
I’ve long been a fan of the marble loaf pound cake at Starbucks. For years, it was the only treat from their glass case of microwavable calories that I was willing to spend dollars on. Despite numerous attempts to recreate it at home, I was never able to achieve that sweet and tender crumb of vanilla and chocolate that I longed for. Luckily, the forced hours indoors this past week have provided me ample time of test batches of marble loaf pound cake, and I could not be more pleased with the results. This recipe for marble loaf pound cake makes an indulgent treat, sweet enough for dessert and dainty enough for breakfast, and yields one huge loaf that is plenty for you and your family to snack on all winter long.
Making the Pound Cake
To make it, we prepare two batters: one for the chocolate swirl and one for the vanilla. Both batters begin by creaming butter and sugar. Eggs and vanilla are added next, followed by the dry ingredients. To prepare the chocolate batter, we add just a touch of dark cocoa powder. Once completed, both batters are added to the pan in large scoops, and the loaf is marbled with the swirl of a knife. The whole thing bakes up into one giant, rich marble loaf pound cake.
The Ganache
If you’re feeling extra fancy, you can top the cake with a bit of chocolate ganache. The cake is totally delicious all on its own, but if you want it to stay true to the Starbucks original, it will require a chocolate glaze on top. Simply heat a small amount of whipping cream and stir it into semisweet chocolate chips. EASY!
No worries if you don’t have the right size loaf pan. You can prepare this marble loaf pound cake in a 9″ square cake pan or in a few mini loaf pans. Be sure to not overflow your pan with batter. Otherwise, you will have a burn-on-the-bottom-of-your-oven situation; I can promise you don’t want to deal with that. A square cake tastes just as good as a loaf, honest.
Give this marble loaf pound cake a whirl on these winter days. You most certainly won’t be disappointed. Have a great week and tune in on Friday for another recipe!
If you like this marble loaf pound cake, you should check out:
Brown Sugar Pound Cake with Blueberries and Brown Butter Crumble
Lemon Almond Poppyseed Bundt Cake
Carrot Bundt Cake with Brown Butter Glaze
Marble Loaf Pound Cake
This marble loaf pound cake is a chocolate and vanilla swirled, rich Southern-style pound cake loaf! Perfect for breakfast or dessert!
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 60
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 1
Ingredients
For the vanilla batter:
- ½ cup (113 gm) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ½ cup (100 gm) sugar
- ¼ cup (50 gm) brown sugar
- 1–1/2 large eggs, at room temperature (save the other half for the chocolate batter)
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 teaspoon lemon zest (optional)
- ¾ cup (100 gm) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons (3 ounces) whole fat buttermilk, at room temperature
For the chocolate batter:
- ½ cup (113 gm) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ½ cup (100 gm) sugar
- ¼ cup (50 gm) brown sugar
- 1–1/2 large eggs, at room temperature
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla
- ¼ cup (20 gm) dark cocoa powder
- ½ cup (65 gm) all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons (3 ounces) whole fat buttermilk, at room temperature
Instructions
- Move a rack to the bottom third of the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Prepare a large 9.25” x 5.25” loaf pan with baking spray (see notes).
- Prepare the vanilla batter by creaming together the butter, sugar, and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer on medium speed for 3 minutes. Add the eggs, vanilla, and lemon zest and beat to combine. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the dry ingredients, mixing on low speed until nearly combined. Add the buttermilk and stir on low to combine. Set this batter aside while you prepare the chocolate batter.
- Cream the butter, sugar, and brown sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer on medium speed for three minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the eggs and vanilla. Scrape the sides of the bowl and add the dry ingredients, mixing until the components are almost combined, and then add the buttermilk. Stir on low speed just until combined.
- Scoop 1/2 cup sized portions of the batters into the prepared pan, alternating regularly to achieve a marbled effect. Once all of the batter has been poured in, carefully smooth the top slightly, being careful not to muddy the colors of the batter too much. Insert a knife vertically into the batter and swirl back and forth about five or six times to get a good swirl throughout. Place the pan into the preheated oven and bake for about an hour or until a toothpick inserted just barely comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan.
Notes
- If you don’t have a loaf pan large enough for the batter, feel free to use a 9” square baking pan or pour extra batter into cupcake tins or a mini loaf tin. Be sure to not overflow a pan!
