marble bundt cake.

I don't know... If I like this cake, that is. I just feel so betrayed by Baked. The cake was super moist from the addition of sour cream, but this was way too moist. It almost had a kueh-like texture. You know, spongy... moist... In fact, I even went to bake the slices for an extra 5 minutes to dry them out a little. And to get a nice crust. A nice crust never hurts.

The good thing about this recipe though, is that the chocolate bit of the marble isn't just cocoa-colored vanilla batter. It's Matts's and Renato's pet peeve too, so they made sure that the chocolate swirl has enough chocolate to be qualified as one. But to me, the killer application was the vanilla batter. What can I say? I love vanilla. 

Marble Bundt Cake
adapted from Baked: New Frontiers in Baking

For the chocolate swirl:

• 6 oz. dark chocolate, chopped
• 1 tsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

For the sour cream cake:

• 3 ½ cups all purpose flour
• 1 ½ tsp. baking powder
• 1 ½ tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces and softened
• 2 ¼ cups sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 16 oz sour cream
• 1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
• Powdered sugar (if desired)

Make the chocolate swirl:
In a double boiler set over simmering water, melt the chocolate. When the chocolate is completely smooth, add the cocoa powder and whisk until thoroughly incorporated. Remove the bowl from the heat and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray the inside of a 10” bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl.


In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until smooth and ribbon like. Scrape down the bowl and add the sugar. Beat until the mixture is smooth and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the bowl and mix for 30 seconds. Add the sour cream and vanilla and beat just until incorporated. Add the dry ingredients in three additions, scraping down the bowl before each addition and beating only until each addition is just incorporated. Do not over mix.


Pour one third of the cake batter into the chocolate swirl mixture. Use a spatula to combine the chocolate mixture and cake batter to make a smooth chocolate batter.


Spread half of the remaining plain cake batter in the prepared pan. Use an ice cream scoop to dollop the chocolate cake batter directly on top of the plain cake batter. The dollops will touch and mostly cover the plain batter, but some plain batter will peek through. Pour the remaining plain batter over the chocolate batter, and use a butter knife to pull through the layers to create a swirl.

Bake in the center of the oven for about 1 hour, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, or until a tester inserted in the center of the cake comes clean. Remove the cake from the oven and let cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Use a knife to loosen the edges of the cake and invert it onto the wire rack and let it cool. Sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired. Serve warm or at room temperature. The cake will keep for 3 days, tightly covered, at room temperature.