Last Updated on January 14, 2023
Marble cake has long been a popular dessert, as it combines the delicious flavors of chocolate and vanilla cake. This delicious 3 colour marble cake recipe takes it to the next level. Not only does it contain three different colors, but also three different flavors: vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry.
This cake recipe is simple to make and requires no previous baking experience. It is great for serving at birthday parties, BBQs, and potlucks. Your guests will love the surprise of finding out this cake has three different yummy flavors swirled inside.
What You Need to Prepare This Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 box white cake mix
- 1 1/4 cup water
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 3 eggs
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened baking cocoa
- 2 tablespoons seedless strawberry jam
- 1/4 teaspoon red gel food color
For the frosting
- 1 cup butter, room temperature (2 sticks)
- 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon seedless strawberry jam
- Red gel food color
- 1 teaspoon unsweetened baking cocoa
Equipment
- 13×9-inch cake pan
- Cooking spray
- Large bowl
- Electric mixer
- Two small bowls
- Butter knife
- Offset spatula
- Wire rack
Cake Icing Spatula Set of 4 Packs(10″+8″+6″+4″) and Cake Smoother Scraper Set of 3 Packs
Step By Step: How to Marble a Cake with Food Coloring
Step One: Preheat Your Oven and Grease the Pan
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease the 13×9-inch cake pan with cooking spray.
Step Two: Beat Cake Mix, Water, Oil, and Eggs
In a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat the cake mix, water, vegetable oil, and eggs together. Beat the mixture until smooth.
Step Three: Prepare the Marble Flavors
In a small bowl, add 1/3 of the cake batter. Stir in the cocoa powder until just blended.
In the other small bowl, add 1/3 of the cake batter. Stir in the red food coloring and the seedless strawberry jam until well combined.
Step Four: Bake the Cake
Add the remaining 1/3 of the batter to the cake pan. Drop in tablespoons of the chocolate batter and strawberry batter randomly in the pan. Use a butter knife to gently swirl the batter together to create a marble effect.
Bake the cake for 28-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Before transferring it to a wire rack allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Let it cool for one hour before frosting.
Step Five: Make the Frosting
Using an electric mixer, beat the butter in a large bowl on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy. Switch the speed to low and gradually add in the powdered sugar, beating until smooth. Beat in two tablespoons of milk and the vanilla, adding more milk if the frosting is still thick.
Step Six: Color the Frosting
Add 1/3 of the frosting to a small bowl. Add the seedless strawberry jam and mix until well combined. Then, mix in a few drops of red food coloring until you reach your desired shade of pink.
In another small bowl, add 1/3 a cup of frosting. Add in the cocoa powder and mix until it is combined.
Step Seven: Frost Your Cake
Add the vanilla frosting to your fully-cooled cake using an offset spatula. Then, add tablespoons of strawberry frosting and tablespoons of chocolate frosting throughout the vanilla frosting. Use the offset spatula to swirl the frosting, making a marble design.
Servings and Preparation Time
Tips and Tricks
This cake can be kept at room temperature for two to three days in an airtight container. In addition, you can keep it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to one week. Let the cake reach room temperature before serving.
This marble cake can also be frozen as well. Let it sit uncovered in the freezer for one hour to let the frosting set. Then after the hour, wrap it in plastic wrap and then aluminum foil.
The cake can be frozen for up to six months as long as it is properly stored. Once ready to serve it, let it sit at room temperature for two hours or let it thaw in the fridge overnight. This is a great way to plan if you have a busy schedule.
3 Colour Marble Cake Recipe: Delicious How-To
Equipment
- 13×9-inch cake pan
- Cooking spray
- Two small bowls
- Butter knife
- Wire rack
Ingredients
For The Cake
- 1 box white cake mix
- 1 1/4 cup water
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 3 eggs
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened baking cocoa
- 2 tablespoons seedless strawberry jam
- 1/4 teaspoon red gel food color
For The Frosting
- 1 cup butter room temperature (2 sticks)
- 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 teaspoon seedless strawberry jam
- Red gel food color
- 1 teaspoon unsweetened baking cocoa
Instructions
- Preheat Your Oven and Grease the Pan - Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease the 13×9-inch cake pan with cooking spray.
- Beat Cake Mix, Water, Oil, and Eggs - In a large bowl using an electric mixer, beat the cake mix, water, vegetable oil, and eggs together. Beat the mixture until smooth.
- Prepare the Marble Flavors - In a small bowl, add 1/3 of the cake batter. Stir in the cocoa powder until just blended.
- In the other small bowl, add in 1/3 of the cake batter. Stir in the red food coloring and the seedless strawberry jam until well combined.
- Bake the Cake - Add the remaining 1/3 of the batter to the cake pan. Drop in tablespoons of the chocolate batter and strawberry batter randomly in the pan. Use a butter knife to gently swirl the batter together to create a marble effect.
- Bake the cake for 28-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Before transferring to a wire rack allow the cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Let it cool for one hour before frosting.
- Make the Frosting - Using an electric mixer, beat the butter in a large bowl on medium-high speed until smooth and creamy. Switch the speed to low and gradually add in the powdered sugar, beating until smooth. Beat in two tablespoons of milk and the vanilla, adding more milk if the frosting is still thick.
- Color the Frosting - Add 1/3 of the frosting to a small bowl. Add the seedless strawberry jam and mix until well combined. Then, mix in a few drops of red food coloring until you reach your desired shade of pink.
- In another small bowl, add 1/3 a cup of frosting. Add in the cocoa powder and mix until it is combined.
- Step Seven: Frost Your Cake - Add the vanilla frosting to your fully cooled cake using an offset spatula. Then, add tablespoons of strawberry frosting and tablespoons of chocolate frosting throughout the vanilla frosting. Use the offset spatula to swirl the frosting, making a marble design.
Notes
3 Colour Marble Cake Recipe – Any Color
While brown and white are the most common colors for marble cake, if you want to add a third color of your choice, it’s super easy. You could even add more than one color! To make a 3 colour chocolate marble cake, you’ll need the following ingredients:
for the cake:
- 1 cup of softened butter
- 1 1/4 cups of caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract or paste
- 3 large eggs
- 2 1/4 cups of sifted self-rising flour
- 3/4 cup of milk
- 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
- 3 drops of food coloring, the color of choice
for the frosting:
- 3 1/2 tablespoons of softened butter
- 1 cup of sifted powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons of boiling water
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract or paste
Now all you need to do is:
- Gather all of the ingredients you need for this recipe and preheat your oven to 325F. You’ll also need to line a cake pan with parchment paper and grease lightly.
- Add the butter and sugar to a mixing bowl and beat until smooth and creamy. It should also be pale in color. You can now add the vanilla extract and individually add the eggs, mixing as you go.
- In alternate stages, add the flour and milk. Keep doing this until the batter is smooth.
- Grab 3 bowls and put 1/3 of the batter into each. Leave one as it is, add cocoa powder to one, and mix, add food coloring of choice (and flavoring of choice) to one, and mix.
- Add spoonfuls from each bowl to the cake pan; changing the color after each spoonful. Once all the batter has been added, swirl with a knife to create the marble effect.
- Place into the center of your preheated oven and bake for around one hour. Be sure to cool your cake before frosting.
- To make the frosting, add butter, sugar, water, and vanilla extract in a bowl. Mix until light and fluffy. Frost as needed.
Chocolate Marble Cake With Fruit Recipe
While you can add strawberry (and red) food coloring to your cake, you may want to make a simple chocolate marble cake, and decorate it with fruit instead. If this is the case, this is the recipe for you. The ingredients you’ll need for this recipe are:
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup of plain flour
- 3/4 cup of caster sugar
- 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- salt, to taste
- 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons of cocoa powder
- 1 tablespoon of water
- 5 strawberries
Now all you need to do is:
- Before you begin, you’ll need to preheat your oven to 350F. Also, grease and lightly flour on a baking tray.
- Separate the yolks from the egg whites and add a small amount of salt to the bowl containing the egg whites. Beat the egg whites for a few minutes, or until they reach stiff peaks.
- Add the sugar to the egg mixture and mix until completely combined. The mixture should now be glossy. At this point, you can individually add the egg yolks, mixing as you go.
- Fold in the flour, oil, baking powder, and vanilla extract. Mix until the ingredients are just combined.
- Remove 4 tablespoons of batter and mix with the cocoa powder. Pour the remaining batter into your prepared cake batter, and then swirl in your chocolate batter with a knife.
- Dust your strawberries with flour and place them on top of the cake batter and place in the oven for around 20-25 minutes.
- Remove from oven and leave to cool before serving. Slice, serve, and enjoy!
Delicious and Fun 3 Colour Marble Cake Recipe
This fun cake is a spin on the classic marble cake. Not only does it have swirls of chocolate cake and vanilla cake, but also strawberry cake as well.
Did you enjoy this recipe on how to make 3 colored marble cake? If you did, please share your thoughts in the comments down below and share this post with your friends and family. Sharing is caring!
Ever since she was a young girl, Anna has been a lover of desserts. As an adult, she enjoys
baking a variety of desserts from cakes, cookies, brownies, bread, and more from scratch. She
enjoys sharing her passion for baking with others who also have a sweet tooth. From properly
measuring ingredients to making sure they are the correct temperature, Anna knows the
importance small details can make in baking. She wants to share her experience with others in
hopes they can make the most delicious baked goods. When she’s not busy blogging, Anna
enjoys trying new recipes in the kitchen.