Marble cake loaf, it’s my husband’s ultimate favorite. He would eat tons of this and if I was to make it every day he would have it every day for breakfast with coffee without fail and... without a moan. I have made it a little extra special and healthier I'd say if I am allowed, by adding turmeric, cacao, and olive oil. Sounds great, doesn't it?
This marble loaf cake with turmeric and cacao is a wonderful cake, I must admit. It’s moist, it’s sweet but not too sweet, and the cacao gives it that extra nutty ‘chocolaty’ touch. It’s just beautiful.
My mum makes a very similar marble cake but it is a dry version of this, we call it ‘chec’, and I still love her version.
I can vividly recall my twin bro and I smashing a whole loaf in one breath and by the time she’d turn around, the marvelous marble cake was GONE!
What is different about this marble cake recipe?
It is a moist cake, I have some lovely and healthy ingredients like turmeric, I have replaced cocoa with cacao and I have added yogurt which is the secret ingredient to a really nice moist marble cake.
Ingredients
- all-purpose plain flour - lately I only use spelt flour, it is tastier
- sugar - you may customize this to your taste and add a little more if you like it sweet
- yogurt - use full-fat yogurt as this will work best
- olive oil
- eggs
- turmeric powder
- lemon and orange zest
- orange juice
- baking powder
- soda bicarbonate
- salt
- cacao powder
How to make marble cake loaf
- Preheat the oven at 190°C or 375°F and prepare the tin by greasing it.
- Mix the eggs with sugar into a bowl and whisk until fluffy. Drizzle in the oil little by little and incorporate.
- Bring in the yogurt, the zest, and the salt. Then add to the mixture the baking powder and the soda bicarbonate with the orange juice.
- Swift in the flour and the turmeric powder and mix gently the flour into the cake mix
- Separate the cake mix (batter) by taking approximately 1/3 away into another bowl. Add the cacao powder to this and gently mix the cacao powder in.
- Place the 2/3 cake mix into the prepared tin and pour the cacao mix into a middle line over the turmeric cake mix. With a chopstick or a wooden swirl to give the cake the marble effect.
- Bake, allow to cool and enjoy!
Tips
- It is best to use all ingredients especially the eggs, butter, and yogurt at room temperature;
- Add extra sugar if you want your marble cake to be sweeter
- Add a handful of chocolate chips if you want to add your cake a chocolaty touch;
- Don't forget to grease the pan, or you may find it difficult to get the cake out;
- See my recipe notes to get some tips on the orange and lemon zest;
- Make a chocolate or an orange glaze and glaze your cake as soon as it has cooled.
FAQs
Yes, you may. Allow it to cool completely, when cool, place it in a freezer bag and you may keep it frozen for up to three months. To thaw it out, the best practice is to remove it from the freezer and let it thaw in the fridge overnight. Bake in the oven for 5-7 min at 180 C or 350 F.
It will last easily for 3 days at room temperature stored in an airtight container or a zip lock bag. After 3-4 days will become stale but will still be safe to consume.
Cocoa might sound and look the same as cacao, there is a big difference between the two.
Cocoa powder is, in essence, the ‘raw cacao’ which has been roasted at very high temperatures. This means processing and therefore its nutritional value gets lower and many health benefits get spoiled.
It might come as a surprise but cocoa powder is highly processed, it contains little amounts of cacao so will have very little to no nutritional value. It often contains fats, sugar-hydrogenated oils, or even gets artificial flavors added.
Cacao, on the other hand, is a lot less processed with a high antioxidant content, it is believed to have the highest level of antioxidants and magnesium from all foods. The power of antioxidants is all well-known, healthy heart, healthy-looking skin, cholesterol-lowering superfood, it is super high in flavonoids. Cacao powder is the best to use in smoothies and eat as raw as possible. I do bake with it because I do not buy and I have not bought cocoa powder for many years now so I have none in my pantry cupboard.
More delightful dessert recipes
- Almond flour cake
- Breakfast cake
- Apple Cake
- Marbled Chocolate, Mini Marshmallows And Peanut Bars
- Banana, Pecan And Coconut Loaf
- 17 Ultimate Chocolate Desserts For All Tastes
- Banana, Dates And Rum Loaf
Did you make this marble cake recipe? Leave a comment and even rate the recipe to tell us what you thought and how it came out for you!
Marble cake with cacao and turmeric
Equipment
- loaf tin 12 x 20 cm or (5x8 inch)
- hand or freestanding mixer
- glass bowls x 2
- spatula
Ingredients
- 230 g flour (spelt) (8.11 oz) or white all-purpose plain flour
- 180 g cane sugar (6.35 oz) add a little more if you like it very sweet
- 180 g yogurt (6.09 floz) full fat yogurt works best
- 100 ml olive oil ( 3.38 fl oz) plus a little extra for greasing the tin
- 3 medium eggs
- 2 tsp turmeric levelled not heaped
- 1 tbsp lemon and orange zest *
- 1/2 medium orange medium the juice
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp soda bicarbonate
- 1 pinch salt
- 2 tbsp cacao powder heaping (sifted)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190°C or 375°F and prepare the tin (mine is 12cm/5in x 20cm/8in) by greasing it. Use a bit of oil or butter. Spray would do too.
- Add the eggs, and the sugar into a bowl. Whisk until fluffy using a hand-electric whisker. Drizzle in the oil little by little and whisk until this is all added and incorporated.
- Add the yogurt and whisk to incorporate this. Don’t over-whisk. Add the zest and the salt.
- Mix the baking powder and the soda bicarbonate with the orange juice into a tiny little container like a coffee cup or something small and add to the mixture.
- Swift in the flour and the turmeric powder and using a spatula mix gently the flour into the cake mix until this gets pretty much incorporated. Don’t worry if you have a lump or two, it’s more important that you are not overly mixing the batter.
- Separate the cake mix (batter) by taking approximately 1/3 away into another bowl. Add the cacao powder to this and gently incorporate this.
- Place the 2/3 cake mix into the prepared tin and pour the cacao mix into a middle line over the turmeric cake mix. With a chopstick or a wooden spoon handle make some swirl movements to give the cake the marble effect. Not too many as you want the marble patterns rather than mixing this and homogenizing the two batters.
- Place the marble cake into the preheated oven (make sure it’s in the middle of your oven) and bake for approximately 40 minutes. Do the skewer test and if this comes out clean and the cake has slightly shrunk, it’s ready.
- Take out of the oven, and allow to cool for 5 min. Take it out of the tin completely and allow it to cool on a cooling rack.
- It’s ready to serve about 30-40 min later. Enjoy with a chocolate drizzle or a scoop of ice cream if you wish.
Notes
If they are waxed I just juice them but I don't use the skin. I also have a cubed orange peel candied in the same way. All need to be kept in the fridge. They do last forever.
Jacqueline Debono says
I have never made a marble cake but this one I want to try. Love the addition of citrus and turmeric! Perfect teatime treat!