Chocolate Marbled Cake

If you love rich, buttery, and sweet cakes that fill your house with the lingering aroma, this chocolate marble cake recipe is definitely a sure-fire keeper. Moist and soft with alternating bites of chocolate and vanilla, this rich loaf is covered with dark chocolate frosting and, best of all, topped with a layer of caramelized walnuts for a bit of crunch! Even novice bakers can make this!

by Nina L. Palmer

Nina L. Palmer

Nina Palmer is a recipe developer and editor for Eatwell101 since 2013. She is passionate about food and culture and specializes in sweet recipes, desserts, baking, as well as developing editorial content.

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Updated Aug 6, 2026

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Ingredients list for the Chocolate Marbled Bread

• 1 cup (250g) Greek yogurt
• 6 medium eggs
• 1 3/4 cups (350g) sugar
• 2 cups (230g) all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 2/3 cups (150ml) sunflower oil
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons Dutch-process cocoa powder

Caramelized walnuts:

• 1 3/4 oz (50g) shelled walnuts or pecans
• 1/2 cup (100g) granulated sugar

The chocolate frosting:

• 7 oz (200g) dark chocolate, chopped
• 2 tablespoons (30g) butterPhoto credit: © Eatwell101.com

Photo credit: © Eatwell101.com

Directions

The marbled cake:
1. Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C). Generously butter and dust a 9-by-5-inch loaf pan with flour; set aside.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat eggs and sugar until light and foamy, about 3 minutes.  Add flour in 3 batches and baking powder. Mix in oil.
3. Scoop 1/3 of the batter into another bowl and add the cocoa powder; stir well. Stir in vanilla extract in the large batch of batter without cocoa.
4. To assemble the cake, start by pouring 1/3 of the vanilla batter in the bottom of the pan. Then pour half the cocoa batter lengthwise in the center. Repeat with another 1/3 of vanilla batter, then the second half of cocoa batter. Finish by topping with remaining vanilla batter. Using a spatula or skewer, make several cuts lengthwise into the batter to swirl all the batters together. Do not overmix.
5. Bake 10 minutes at 375°F (190°C), then lower the temperature to 340°F (170°C) and bake for 45 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Transfer the loaf pan to a rack to cool for 10 minutes. Turn out the cake from the pan and cool completely on the rack. You can refrigerate in an airtight container until ready to garnish.

Photo credit: © Eatwell101.com

Caramelized walnuts
1. Melt half the sugar in a heavy-bottomed saucepan with 2 to 3 tablespoons water.
2. Once the caramel gets a slightly golden color, add the remaining half of the sugar progressively. Cook until light golden.
3. Add pecans and stir to coat well.
4. Transfer pecans onto parchment paper, making sure to space them so they don’t stick together, and allow to cool.

Photo credit: © Eatwell101.com

The chocolate frosting
1. Melt chocolate with butter in a double boiler and mix until smooth.
2. Brush on the completely cooled cake.
3. Garnish with caramelized walnuts

Note: The batter can also work as marbled cupcakes with the same chocolate walnut topping. The options are endless!

Photo credit: © Eatwell101.com

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