Easy & Moist One Batter Marble Cupcakes
These Marble Cupcakes are easy to make yet look so impressive! They are made with just a few simple ingredients, and save time using only one batter. Swirled with a marble frosting these cupcakes look like they came straight from a bakery!
When you see something marbled in a bakery, you’d assume it takes lots of hard work to pull off that color and texture. As a trained pastry chef that’s done this a million times, I can tell you it’s easy when you follow this one-batter marble cupcake recipe!
Marbled baked goods are basically a vanilla cake that’s swirled with chocolate, giving it a marbleized appearance. While traditionally, it’s sold like a marble bundt cake or marble loaf cake, the recipe can easily be made into individual cupcakes!
The best part is there is only one batter to make. Simply portion out a cup of vanilla batter and add cocoa powder. Swirl it into the cupcakes and you’ve got a bakery-style treat that’s homemade and delicious! Especially when topped with marble frosting- see below!
You can also top these cupcakes with chocolate buttercream frosting, classic vanilla frosting, or this decadent white chocolate buttercream frosting.
If you wanted to impress your friends and family even further you can easily make a whole layered marble cake instead! You can do it!
What you need
HOW TO MAKE MARBLE CUPCAKES
Prepare for baking: Preheat the oven to 350F and line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners. Set aside.
Combine the dry ingredients: In a medium size, bowl combine cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and kosher salt. Whisk until combined.
Bake and cool: Fill the muffin liners halfway full with the vanilla batter, then add ½ tbsp of the chocolate batter. Swirl the batter with a skewer, toothpick, or thin knife to make a swirl effect. Bake for 18-19 minutes and cool completely.
How to make the swirl marble frosting
Make the vanilla frosting:
Mix the butter and sugar: Add the butter and powdered sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low-medium speed for 1 minute.
Add the vanilla and cream: Move to high speed for 2 minutes, stop, then add in the vanilla and creamer. Mix again on high for 1 minute. The icing should have stiff peaks, and hold its shape, not runny at all.
Remove frosting: Remove as much frosting as you can from the bowl and paddle, but don’t wash the bowl, as it will be used to make the chocolate frosting.
Make the chocolate frosting:
Mix the butter and sugar: In the same bowl add 1/2 cup butter, 1 1/2 cup confectioners sugar, and ⅓ cup cocoa powder and mix on low speed, working your way up to medium as the mixture combines.
Add the cream and salt: Stop the mixer and add the 1/2 tsp cream, and 1/8 tsp of kosher salt. Mix again on medium speed until the chocolate is mixed throughout and the frosting is fluffy.
Fill a piping bag: Using a piping bag fitted with a tip, fill up one side with vanilla frosting, and the other side with chocolate frosting. Make sure both frosting flavors are able to reach down to the tip. Do not top one frosting on top of the other, add them by side in the piping bag.
Frost the cupcakes: Swirl the frosting over the cupcakes for the marble effect!
TIPS FOR RECIPE SUCCESS
Use a sifter: Sift the cake flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and baking soda to avoid any lumps in the batter.
Do not overmix: Be careful not to overmix the marble cupcake batter, otherwise your cupcakes will be dense. Mix until just combined.
Room temperature ingredients: Make sure your butter, eggs, and buttermilk are all at room temperature so they mix together easily. Room temperature ingredients mix better and produce a more consistent cupcake batter. Learn how to soften butter quickly if you forgot to leave it out beforehand.
Use a piping bag: Using a piping bag with two different colors of frosting creates the marble effect without any fuss. You can also use two ziplock bags, cutting off one corner of each bag.
Easy & Moist One Batter Marble Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 ¾ cup (218.75 g) cake flour, (207g)
- 1 tsp (1 tsp) baking powder
- ¼ tsp (0.25 tsp) baking soda
- ¼ tsp (0.25 tsp) kosher salt
- ½ cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter, (113g) softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar, (200g)
- 1 (1) egg, (50g)
- 2 (2) egg white, (70g)
- 2 tsp (2 tsp) vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup (120 g) buttermilk, at room temperature (118mL) plus 2 tsp, separated
- 2 ½ tbsp (2.5 tbsp) Unsweetened cocoa powder
Vanilla frosting:
- 1/2 cup (113.5 g) butter, softened or margarine or butter substitute
- 1 1/2 cups (180 g) confectioners sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoons (1 teaspoons) cream, or milk
Chocolate frosting:
- 1/2 cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/2 cup (180 g) confectioners sugar
- ⅓ (⅓) rd cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 tsp (0.5 tsp) heavy cream, or milk
- 1/8 tsp (0.13 tsp) kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F and line a muffin tin with 12 cupcake liners.
- In a medium size bowl combine the 1 ¾ cup cake flour, 1 tsp baking powder, ¼ tsp baking soda, and ¼ tsp kosher salt. Whisk until combined.
- In the bowl of a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream the ½ cup butter for 1 minute on medium speed. Scrape down the bowl and add 1 cup sugar.
- Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Scrape down the bowl and add the egg, 2 egg whites and 2 tsp vanilla extract. Mix for 1 minute on medium speed.
- Add in 1/3rd of the dry ingredients, then half of the 1/2 cup buttermilk and alternate, starting and ending with the dry ingredients.
- Mix only until combined. Do not overmix.
- Remove 1 cup of the vanilla batter and put it in a small bowl. Add the 2 ½ tbsp cocoa powder and 2 tsp remaining buttermilk into the separated vanilla batter (the one cup) and stir to combine.
- Fill the muffin liners half way full with the vanilla batter, then add ½ tbsp of the chocolate batter.
- Swirl the batter with a skewer, toothpick, or thin knife to make a swirl effect.
- Bake for 18-19 minutes and cool.
For the marble frosting:
- First make the vanilla frosting. Add the 1/2 cup butter and 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low-medium speed for 1 minute.
- Move to high speed for 2 minutes, stop, then add in the 1/2 tsp vanilla and tsp creamer. Mix again on high for 1 minute.
- Remove as much frosting as you can from the bowl and paddle but dont wash the bowl, there’s no need.
- Make the chocolate frosting. In the same bowl add the 1/2 cup butter, 1 1/2 cup confectioners sugar, and ⅓ cup cocoa powder and mix on low speed working your way up to medium as the mixture combines.
- Stop the mixer and add the 1/2 tsp cream, and 1/8 tsp of kosher salt. Mix again on medium speed until the chocolate is mixed throughout and the frosting is fluffy.
- Using a piping bag fitted with a tip, fill up one side with vanilla frosting, and the other side with chocolate frosting. Make sure both frosting flavors are able to reach down to the tip. Do not top one frosting on top of the other, more like side by side in the piping bag.
- Swirl the frosting over the cupcakes for the marble effect!
I made these for my daughter after her skating competition! They were so moist and the recipe was easy to follow! I even got the icing pretty bang on! Thank you for the recipe!
Delicious and easy to make! I will definitely make it again.
Yay Leandri! That makes me SO SO HAPPY! I usually have to make a double batch of these because they are gone so fast every time I bake them!
Could I make this with regular milk instead of buttermilk? I don’t have any and I need to make these tonight for a birthday party tomorrow. Don’t want to use vinegar to make it as I’ve never had good results that way. Thanks!
You sure can!