Marble Birthday Cake

This Marble Birthday Cake is the perfect cake for chocolate and vanilla lover's alike! It's a soft vanilla and chocolate marbled cake with alternating vanilla and chocolate frosting! The batter is super simple to make, no machine required and best yet, it's gluten free, nut free, eggless and easily vegan!

If you can't decide between vanilla and chocolate, this Marble Birthday Cake is the perfect cake for you! It's great for birthdays or any occasion and since its only two layers, it's fairly simple to make.

If you're looking for more birthday cake recipes, check out my Gluten Free Birthday Cake, Chocolate Sprinkle Cake and Triple Chocolate Layer Cake!

Jump to:

• Reasons to Love This Cake
• Ingredient Notes
• Substitutions and Variations
• How to Make Marble Birthday Cake
• Expert Baking Tips
• Recipe FAQs
• Storing and Freezing 
• Other Cake Recipes You'll Love
• 📖 Recipe
• Marble Birthday Cake

Reasons to Love This Cake

• Allergy Friendly- This cake is gluten free, nut free, egg free and can easily be dairy free (vegan). 
• Soft & Fluffy- This cake is super soft and delicious.
• Two Flavors- This cake has both chocolate cake and frosting and vanilla cake and frosting!
• Chocolate and White Sprinkles- Add a nice crunch! 

Ingredient Notes

For the Cake

• Gluten Free Flour- If you also have nut allergies, make sure to use a brand that’s made in a nut free facility. I really love to use this one because it’s nut safe but it does contain dairy. 
• Milk of Choice- If there are no dairy allergies or if you’re not vegan, you can use regular whole milk. For non dairy, use a non dairy milk of your choosing. 
• Pure Vanilla Extract- Make sure the vanilla you use is pure and gluten free.
• Vegetable Oil- Adds moisture into this cake; there is no butter or vegan baking stick. 
• White Vinegar- Helps make the cake rise.

For the Frosting

• Click here for the Chocolate Fudge Frosting recipe and ingredient list.
• Click here for the Vegan Vanilla Frosting recipe and ingredient list. 

See my recipe card below for a complete list of the ingredients with measurements.

This recipe has not been tested with these substitutions and/or variations due to celiac disease and food allergies. If you change any of the ingredients, please let us know how the recipe turned out in the comments below!

How to Make Marble Birthday Cake

Here are the step by step instructions to make this cake! 

Step 1: Whisk Together the Dry Ingredients Minus the Cocoa Powder

In a large bowl whisk together the gluten free flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. 

Step 2: Mix Together the Wet Ingredients and Brown Sugar

In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk of choice, light brown sugar, vegetable oil, white vinegar and the vanilla.

Step 3: Add the Wet Ingredients into the Dry

Slowly add the milk mixture into the dry ingredients and whisk to combine. It if gets too thick, switch to a spatula but it should be fairly liquidy.

Step 4: Separate the Batter into Two Equal Halves

This recipe makes around 4 cups of batter. Take about 2 cups of batter and put it in a separate bowl. 

Step 5: Add the Cocoa Powder and 2 Tablespoons Milk

In one of the bowls of batter, add in the ¼ cup of cocoa powder and the remaining 2 tablespoons milk of choice. 

Using a spatula, mix until combined. It will be thick.

Step 6: Fill the Cake Tins

Divide the vanilla batter into two equal halves. Divide the chocolate batter into two equal halves.

Using a small cookie scoop or a tablespoon, put one scoop or one large tablespoon of batter in each cake tin. Repeat with the other batter flavor. Then, alternate back and forth with the batters.

You want half the vanilla batter and half the chocolate batter to go on one cake tin and the other halves to go in the other.

Once done, smooth the tops of the batter with a butter knife.

Step 7: Bake the Cakes

Bake the cakes in the center rack at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 40 minutes or until the vanilla tops of the cake are golden brown and spring back at you when carefully touched or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Step 8: Cool the Cake

Let the cakes cool almost completely in the pan before trying to remove them.

Step 9: Cut the Cakes

Once the cakes have cooled completely, if the tops of your cakes have domes, you can very carefully slice them off to make the tops flat.

Step 10: Make the Frostings

For these cupcakes, I use my chocolate fudge frosting recipe and my vegan vanilla frosting recipe. 

You will only need to make half of each recipe, so divide each recipe by 2.

Assembling the Cake Tips

Step 1: Divide the Frosting

Put the vanilla frosting into a piping bag and the chocolate frosting into another piping bag.  

Step 2: Frost One Layer

Place one layer of cake on a cake plate/stand. Pick a flavor of frosting. I started with the chocolate.

Pipe a ring of chocolate frosting around the edge of the top of the cake. Then pipe a vanilla ring. Repeat this process until you reach the center of the cake.

The pattern will look like a bullseye.

Step 3: Add The Top Layer of Cake

Place the other cake, bottom (or flat) side up so the top of the cake is nice and flat. 

Frost a thin layer of frosting on the top of the cake. It doesn't matter which flavor because we will be covering it with ganache.

Step 4: Frost the Sides

Take your vanilla frosting and pipe a ring going all the way around the cake, in the middle of the cake, where the two cakes meet.

Then pipe a ring of chocolate frosting above and below the vanilla, going all the way around the cake.

Next, take a cake scraper or a large icing spatula and scrape the frosting all the way around the cake so it blends. It should be a thin layer.

Step 5: Chill the Cake 

Pop the entire cake in the fridge uncovered for 15-20 minutes. This will make it more stable to work with.

Make the Ganache

Step 1: Place the Chocolate Chips in a Heat Safe Bowl

Set the bowl with the chips aside.

Step 2: Heat the Heavy Cream

Set the heavy cream in a saucepan over medium heat, whisking constantly. 

When it begins to simmer around the edges, immediately pour the cream over the chocolate chips.

Step 3: Let it Sit

Do not whisk the heavy cream and chocolate chips together yet!

Let it sit for one minute and then whisk until combined and smooth.

Make the Drip

Step 1: Spoon the Ganache 

Take the cake out of the fridge and immediately spoon almost all the liquid ganache on top of the cake.

Step 2: Push the Ganache 

Using an icing spatula, push the ganache around the edges of the cake so it drips down the sides.

Work quickly because the cold cake will quickly stop the ganache from dripping too much. 

Decorate the Top

Step 1: Make Swirls

Make little swirls all around the edge of the top of the cake.

Step 2: Add Sprinkles and Mini Chocolate Chips

Sprinkle some gluten free/nut free/vegan mini chocolate chips, nonpareils and sprinkles on top of the frosting swirls.

Recipe FAQs

Storing and Freezing 

Storing 

Since gluten free and eggless baked goods are best the first day, we want to try to keep this marble birthday cake as fresh as possible.

Once the cake is cut into, it’s best to cut the entire cake into slices, wrap each slice in foil and store in a zip top bag in the fridge.

This is if you will be eating all the slices the next two days.

When ready to eat, let the slices sit on the counter, in the foil for about an hour or until the cake is room temperature and soft.

I like to warm each slice in the microwave for 10 seconds.

Freezing

If not eating all the extra slices in the next two days, take the slices wrapped in foil and in the zip top bag and freeze them. 

You can keep the slices frozen for up to 30 days.

When ready to eat, put the slices in the fridge the night before or leave them out on the counter for 2 hours prior to eating or until the cake is room temperature and soft.

Warm each slice in the microwave for 10 seconds.

Other Cake Recipes You'll Love

📖 Recipe