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German Marble Cake Recipe – Oma's Marmorkuchen 

This favorite marble cake recipe, aka Marmorkuchen, has been in our family for years. Our boys 'loved' the chocolate part. Because of that, I would often make two-thirds of the cake chocolate by doubling the chocolate quantity.

Ingredients:

• 3 ounces (85 grams) semisweet chocolate
• 1¼ cups (300 milliliters) milk, divided
• ¾ cup (171 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1¼ cups (250 grams) granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon (5 milliliters) almond extract (optional rum or vanilla extract)
• 3 large eggs
• 2½ cups (325 grams) all-purpose flour
• 2½ teaspoons (10 grams) baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon (5 grams) salt

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Grease and flour a 12-cup Bundt pan and set aside.
2. Combine the chocolate and ¼ cup milk in a small saucepan. Over low heat, stir until chocolate melts. Let cool.
3. Beat the butter and sugar until creamy in a large mixing bowl. Add the almond extract and eggs, beating until well mixed.
4. In another bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir the flour mixture into the sugar mixture alternately with the remaining milk. Pour ⅔ of the batter into the Bundt pan.
5. Add the cooled chocolate mixture to the remaining batter. Mix well. Spoon the chocolate batter over the plain batter in the pan. Swirl a knife through both batters to marble. Smooth the top.
6. Bake 60 to 65 minutes, or until wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean.
7. Cool in the pan on a wire rack about 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and continue to cool on a wire rack.
8. To serve, place the cooled cake on a serving plate and dust with powdered sugar or drizzle with chocolate glaze (see notes/hints below).

Notes/Hints:

• Use rum or vanilla instead of almond extract
• To replace the 3 ounces of chocolate with cocoa, use 9 tbsp cocoa powder and add an extra 3 tbsp butter. You may need to add a bit of liquid so it matches the consistency of the vanilla dough.
• Drizzle with chocolate glaze: Put ½ cup of chocolate chips, 2 tbsp (28 g) butter, and 2 tbsp (30 ml) corn syrup into a bowl. Microwave for about a minute, until the chocolate can be stirred smooth.
• If you love the chocolate part, try this vegan chocolate cake that so reminds me of this marble cake's chocolate part. 

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Updated on February 7, 2026