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Chocolate Marble Cake with Mocha Frosting

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This Chocolate Marble Cake marries rich, buttery chocolate marble sheet cake with creamy coffee-and-chocolate mocha frosting for a scrumptious no-fuss dessert. This large cake will serve many people so it’s perfect for a picnic, family event, school function, or just for snacking.

Square of chocolate marble cake with mocha frosting against a green background.

Is it cozy in your neck of the woods yet? If so, this might be the perfect cake to whip up to warm up! A little comfort on a cold day is always a good thing.

This scrumptious and easy cake is a favorite from Southern Living and the mocha frosting is creamy, rich, and frankly, fabulous!

Why you’ll love this Chocolate Marble Cake recipe

  • Easy recipe that uses pantry ingredients
  • Great choice for pleasing coffee and chocolate lovers
  • Perfect cake to serve for a group, school event, picnic, BBQ, or any gathering
  • Beautiful swirls of color and the creamiest mocha frosting


Ingredients

The marble cake is the star here. Although I recommend trying the cake with the mocha frosting, you can substitute any of your favorites. It’d also be great with Hershey’s Chocolate Frosting or Dark Chocolate Fudge Frosting to make it extra decadent.

For the cake:

  • Butter
  • Sugar
  • Large eggs
  • Vanilla extract
  • Flour
  • Baking powder
  • Salt
  • Half and half
  • Unsweetened cocoa
  • Hot water

For the mocha frosting:

  • Powdered sugar
  • Unsweetened cocoa 
  • Hot brewed coffee
  • Vanilla extract
  • Butter
  • Half and half
a square of chocolate marble cake with mocha frosting sits on a blue and white flowered plate along with a fork and the plate is on a white surface.

How to Make Chocolate Marble Cake with Mocha Frosting

This recipe is originally from Southern Living Magazine.

For the cake: 

  1. Preheat oven to 325.
  2. Beat butter and one and a half cups sugar at medium speed with a stand mixer for 4 to 5 minutes or until creamy.
  3. Add eggs one at a time, beating until just blended after each addition.
  4. Beat in vanilla extract. 
  5. Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.
  6. Add to butter mixture alternating with half and half, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
  7. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stop to scrape bowl as needed.
  8. Spoon 1 1/4 cups batter into a 2 qt. bowl and stir in cocoa, 3 tablespoons of hot water and remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Stir until well blended.
  9. Spread remaining vanilla batter into a greased and floured 15 x 10 inch jelly roll pan.
  10. Spoon chocolate mixture over vanilla and gently swirl with a knife.
  11. Bake at 325 for 23-28 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
  12. Cool completely in pan on the wire rack for about an hour.
  13. Frost with Mocha Frosting.

For the frosting:

  1. Whisk together sugar and cocoa in a medium bowl.
  2. Combine coffee and vanilla.
  3. Beat butter at medium speed with a heavy duty electric mixer until creamy.
  4. Gradually add sugar mixture alternately with coffee mixture, beating at low speed until blended.
  5. Add half and half, 1 tablespoon at a time until frosting is smooth and a spreadable consistency. 

Tips & Variations

  • Make cupcakes. Make marbled cupcakes and frost them with the mocha frosting.
  • Double the swirl. Add a swirl of peanut butter or raspberry sauce and swirl alongside the chocolate marble.
  • Use in a dessert tray. Cut into tiny squares and this cake is perfect on a dessert tray for a group.

Storage

This marble cake can be stored in a cool location for 2 days, then refrigerated for up to 5 days.

More Chocolate Cake Recipes

large graphic with cacao pod for once upon a chocolate life blog.

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Square of chocolate marble cake with mocha frosting against a green background

Chocolate Marble Cake with Mocha Frosting

This Chocolate Marble Cake with Mocha Frosting combines a rich, buttery chocolate marble sheet cake with creamy coffee-and-chocolate mocha frosting for a scrumptious no-fuss dessert.
Print Recipe

Ingredients

For the cake:

  • 1 cup butter softened
  • 1 ¾ cups sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • cups flour
  • 1 TBSP baking powder
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 cup half and half
  • ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa
  • 3 TBSP hot water

For the frosting:

  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • cup unsweetened cocoa
  • 3 TBSP hot brewed coffee
  • 2 TBSP vanilla extract
  • ½ cup butter softened
  • 3-4 TBSP half and half

Instructions

For the cake:

  • Preheat oven to 325.
  • Beat butter and one and a half cups sugar at medium speed with a stand mixer for 4 to 5 minutes or until creamy.
  • Add eggs one at a time, beating until just blended after each addition.
  • Beat in vanilla extract.
  • Sift together flour, baking powder and salt.
  • Add to butter mixture alternating with half and half, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
  • Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Stop to scrape bowl as needed.
  • Spoon 1 1/4 cups batter into a 2 qt. bowl and stir in cocoa, 3 tablespoons of hot water and remaining 1/4 cup sugar. Stir until well blended.
  • Spread remaining vanilla batter into a greased and floured 15 x 10 inch jelly roll pan.
  • Spoon chocolate mixture over vanilla and gently swirl with a knife.
  • Bake at 325 for 23-28 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
  • Cool completely in pan on the wire rack for about an hour.
  • Frost with Mocha Frosting.

For the frosting:

  • Whisk together sugar and cocoa in a medium bowl.
  • Combine coffee and vanilla.
  • Beat butter at medium speed with a heavy duty electric mixer until creamy.
  • Gradually add sugar mixture alternately with coffee mixture, beating at low speed until blended.
  • Add half and half, 1 tablespoon at a time until frosting is smooth and a spreadable consistency.
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: chocolate marble cake with mocha frosting, marble cake

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One Comment

  1. I was just thinking of your blog yesterday (I was probably thinking of chocolate also) and hoping you would post another yummy dessert soon and here you are. I will definitely try this one.

    I made Ina Garten's Salty Oatmeal Chocolate Chunk Cookies yesterday. They are wonderful! You might like to try them. It is from her new book, Make It Ahead.

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