These Marble Cupcakes are half chocolate, half vanilla and utterly perfect if you can’t decide which flavour you love more. Decorated with half vanilla and half chocolate swirled buttercream and some sprinkles.
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Vanilla Cupcake
Marble Cupcakes are absolutely perfect if you can’t decide which flavour of cupcakes you want. I went with a simple half vanilla and half chocolate for these cupcakes but really you could combine any two flavours you fancy.
I made one cupcake batter and split it into two but we will get to that.
Related Recipes
Whenever I am making cupcakes or a cake I always start by creaming together the butter and sugar. In this recipe, I used caster sugar and baking spread, just because I think it makes the cupcake moister. But unsalted butter also works perfectly in cupcakes, it just comes down to personal preference.
I then added the flour, eggs and vanilla extract and split the cupcake mixture into two separate bowls.
Chocolate Cupcake
So, if you have read previous posts you will know that when I make a chocolate cake I prefer to use light brown sugar compared with caster sugar.
In this recipe however, I only wanted to use one cake batter and split it into two rather than making two smaller batches of cupcake batter; so, I went with caster sugar.
Once I had split the cupcake mixture into two, I added milk and cocoa powder to one of the bowls. I always worry that cocoa powder slightly dries out the cupcake mixture and you end up with a dry cake which is why I always add the milk to help combat this.
Marble Cupcakes
To get the marble cupcake effect, start by adding one spoonful of vanilla mixture into the cupcake cases, then add the chocolate on top. Repeat with each cupcake until all the batter has been used up.
Now, using either a cupcake tester or a cake skewer swirl the two mixtures together. You don’t want to mix them together, because then you will just end up with a super weak chocolate cupcake.
Drag the skewer through the mixture a few times until you can see the two swirl together but not fully combine.
Baking Cups
As with all my cupcake recipes I used these Baking Cups from Iced Jems. I absolutely adore them, they come in so many different colours and designs and are the perfect size for cupcakes.
Because they have a flat bottom you can put them onto a flat oven tray and they will hold their shape while they bake. You don’t need to use a muffin tray to hold them.
Baking
The cupcakes need to bake for around 15-20 minutes depending on your oven, both cupcake batters will bake at the same speed. So don’t worry about the vanilla cupcake baking and the chocolate cupcake still being raw.
The vanilla part of the cupcake should be a lovely golden-brown colour and a cake tester should be come out of the cupcake clean. If there is still cupcake batter on the end of the skewer when you test the cupcakes, then pop them back into the oven for 3-4 minutes.
The cupcakes need to be completely cool before you start decorating them, otherwise the buttercream will just melt.
If you are using baking cups you can leave them to cool fully on the oven tray. If you are using traditional cupcake cases I would recommend leaving them for 15-20 minutes to cool in the muffin tray before moving them to a wire rack to cool fully.
Buttercream
Similar to the cupcakes I made the buttercream in one batch. When you make buttercream you always need to use unsalted butter. The kind that comes in a 250g block wrapped in foil. Anything else will be too soft and the buttercream will just collapse when you pipe it onto your cupcakes.
Once I had beaten the butter and icing sugar together, I split it into two bowls. To one of the bowls, I added the cocoa powder.
The chocolate buttercream will become super thick when you mix the cocoa powder into it. To combat this you can either use whole milk or boiling water. I always go with whole milk as I think it makes the buttercream creamier but either will work perfectly in softening the buttercream enough to make it pipeable.
Decorating
To decorate the cupcakes I used my favourite 1M Piping Tip and these large piping bags.
Cut a large piece of cling film and place it on the countertop. Spread the vanilla buttercream in a line on the cling film. Spread the chocolate buttercream beside it and roll the cling film up into a large sausage shape. Put the cling film sausage into your piping bag and pipe it onto the top of your cupcakes.
To decorate the cupcakes, I finished them off with some chocolate sprinkles.
Alternatives
I made these marble cupcakes vanilla and chocolate, but you could make them any flavoured you fancy.
Equipment
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Marble Cupcakes
Ingredients
For the Marble Cupcakes
- 150 g Caster Sugar
- 150 g Unsalted Butter or Baking Spread
- 150 g Self-Raising Flour
- 3 Large Eggs
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 25 g Cocoa Powder
- 25 ml Whole Milk
For the Marble Buttercream
- 200 g Unsalted Butter
- 400 g Icing Sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 25 g Cocoa Powder
- 3-4 tbsp Whole Milk
Instructions
To Make the Marble Cupcakes
- Preheat the oven to 180C/160 Fan. Line a muffin tray with cupcake liners and leave to one side.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy
- Add in the flour, eggs, baking powder and vanilla extract and mix until completely combined.
- Split the mixture evenly into two bowls. To one bowl add in the cocoa powder and milk and beat until it is completely combined.
- Add a spoonful of the vanilla batter to the cupcake cases, add a spoonful of chocolate on top. Alternate the vanilla and chocolate mixture until you have used all the cupcake batter.
- Using a skewer swirl the two batters together.
- Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes. You will know they are ready when they are springy to touch.
- Leave them to cool in the muffin tray for 15-20 minutes and then transfer them onto a wire rack to cool fully.
To Make the Marble Buttercream
- In a bowl mix together the icing sugar, butter and vanilla extract until combined.
- Split the mixture equally between two bowls. To one of the bowls add the cocoa powder and mix. If the buttercream is quite thick then add a tablespoon of milk and mix again. Repeat until it is the desired consistency.
- Place a large piece of cling film on your work surface. Spread the vanilla buttercream in a straight line down the centre. Spread the chocolate buttercream beside it.
- Roll the clingfilm up so you have a buttercream sausage. Twist either end to stop the buttercream from spilling out.
- Snip one of the ends of the buttercream sausage and put it into your piping bag.
- Pipe onto the top of the cupcakes and decorate with sprinkles.
Notes
- These Marble Cupcakes will last 3+ days in an airtight container.
