The Best Marble Cake Mix Recipe That Feels Like a Hug From the Oven
A stunning, easy-to-make marble cake that starts with cake mix and ends with wow. Moist vanilla and chocolate swirls plus rich buttercream frosting—perfect for birthdays or cozy cravings!
Equipment
- 3 8-inch Cake Pans
- Electric Mixer
- Mixing Bowls
- Rubber Spatula
- Butter Knife
- Cooling Rack
- Cake Stand or Plate
Ingredients
Cake Batter
- 1 box (15.25 oz) Yellow Cake Mix such as Duncan Hines Moist Yellow
- 0.5 cup All-Purpose Flour
- 0.5 cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 box (3.9 oz) Vanilla Instant Pudding Mix just the dry powder
- 1 cup Sour Cream full fat preferred
- 0.5 cup Vegetable Oil canola works well
- 1.25 cups Water
- 3 large Eggs room temperature
- 2.5 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
Chocolate Swirl
- 2 cups Reserved Yellow Cake Batter
- 4 tablespoons Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
- 4 tablespoons Hot Water
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
- 3 sticks (339g) Unsalted Butter softened, not microwaved
- 8 cups Powdered Sugar
- 1 cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder sifted, not Dutch-processed
- 0.75 cup Milk plus 2 tbsp or more if needed
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 1 teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325°F. Grease and flour three 8-inch cake pans. Line the bottoms with parchment paper for easy removal.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the yellow cake mix, flour, sugar, and vanilla pudding mix until well combined.
- Add sour cream, vegetable oil, water, eggs, and vanilla extract to the dry ingredients. Mix on low speed for 30 seconds, then on medium for 2 minutes until smooth.
- Combine cocoa powder and hot water to form a paste. Stir the paste into 2 cups of the prepared yellow cake batter to make the chocolate swirl.
- Divide half of the vanilla batter into the pans. Spoon chocolate batter over it, then top with remaining vanilla and chocolate batters. Swirl with a butter knife in figure-eight motions.
- Bake at 325°F for 20–25 minutes until a toothpick comes out with a few crumbs. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes, then transfer to racks to cool completely.
- Beat butter until smooth. Add vanilla, then slowly mix in powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. Add milk gradually and beat 5–6 minutes until fluffy.
- Stack the layers with frosting between each. Spread a crumb coat and chill for 15 minutes. Frost the entire cake and decorate as desired.