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Gluten-free marble cake, frosted with chocolate frosting, on a cake plate. Two slices have been cut from the cake.

Gluten-Free Marble Cake Recipe

Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 25 minutes
Total Time 37 minutes
Servings 12 slices

Ingredients

  • 2 ½ cups gluten-free flour blend, see note (12 ½ ounces; 355 grams)
  • 1 ½ cups granulated sugar (10 ½ ounces; 298 grams)
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • ¾ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup vegetable oil (7 ounces; 198 grams)
  • ⅔ cup milk or water (5 ⅓ ounces; 150 grams)
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • ¼ cup Dutch process or natural cocoa powder (1 ounce; 28 grams)

Chocolate Frosting

  • 4 cups powdered sugar, sifted (16 ounces; 453 grams)
  • ¾ cup Dutch process or natural cocoa powder, sifted (¾ ounce; 21 grams)
  • 1 cup butter, softened (8 ounces; 226 grams)
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ cup milk or coffee, plus more as needed, see note (2 ounces; 56 grams)

Instructions

Gluten-Free Marble Cake

  1. Preheat oven to 350℉. Grease two 8-inch round cake pans with gluten-free nonstick cooking spray.

  2. Whisk together gluten-free flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add oil, milk, eggs, and vanilla extract. Blend until smooth.

  3. Remove about 1 cup of batter and place into a medium bowl. Divide remaining batter between the two prepared pans.

  4. Add the sifted cocoa powder to the 1 cup of reserved cake batter. Mix until smooth.

  5. Drop chocolate batter over the top of the yellow batter. Divide batter equally between the two pans but don’t worry if one pan has a little more chocolate batter than the other.Using a knife, swirl the batters together gently. Don’t over mix.

  6. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 22-27 minutes.

  7. Remove pans from oven. Allow cakes to cool in the pan for ten minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. Prepare chocolate frosting. Fill and frost the cake. 

  8. Store cake on the counter for up to three days.

Chocolate Frosting

  1. Whisk together powdered sugar, cocoa powder, and salt in a small bowl. 

  2. Beat butter for 30 seconds on high speed until light. Stop mixer. Add powdered sugar mix and milk or coffee. Mix, on low speed, until creamy. If frosting seems dry, add additional milk or coffee until smooth and creamy. 

Recipe Notes

Gluten-Free Flour Blend

This recipe was tested with Bob's Red Mill 1:1 Gluten-Free Flour Blend. Replacing the flour with another brand might change the texture of the cake. Be sure to use a flour blend that contains xanthan gum. If it doesn't, add 1 teaspoon of xanthan gum to the flour. Whisk to combine. Then use as directed.

For Gluten-Free Marble Cupcakes

Line two 12-cavity muffin pans with paper liners. Prepare batters as directed. Drop about  1 tablespoon of vanilla batter into each cupcake cup. Add a tablespoon chocolate batter. Repeat until the cupcake cup is filled about 2/3 full. Swirl the batters together using a toothpick. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 20 minutes.

For Gluten-Free Marble Sheet Cake

Grease a 13 by9-inch sheet pan with nonstick cooking spray. Prepare batters as directed. Spread about three-quarters of the vanilla batter into prepared pan. Drop chocolate batter evenly over plain batter. Spoon remaining vanilla batter on top.  Swirl batters together gently with knife or spatula for marbled effect.

Bake until cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 30 minutes.