Marble Cupcakes

Marble cupcakes merge the best of both worlds.  Half chocolate, half vanilla, these cakes bring the perfect unison for fans of either flavor.  I'm a fan because though I enjoy chocolate cakes, I often find them a bit overwhelming. The mix of two flavors is enough to make a perfect cupcake.


To make my own marble batter, I split the Homemade Yellow Cake recipe in half, and added some cocoa powder to the second batch.

For this recipe I decided to try out some vanilla extract with bourbon to really boost the flavor.

I started by using a stand mixer to combine the flour, sugars, baking powder, and salt and stirred well. 

Next, I stirred in the milk, vegetable oil, butter, and vanilla and beat the mixture for 2 minutes, then added egg and beat for another 3 minutes. This portion was the vanilla cake, and I scooped the batter into a small bowl and set it to the side while I made the chocolate.

To make the chocolate batter, I followed the same process but added cocoa powder in with the flour.

I followed all the other steps the same, leaving me with a thick, creamy, bowl of chocolate cake batter, ready for baking.

And there we have it, chocolate and vanilla batter ready to go.

Finally, cupcake time!  I poured some of the vanilla in the bottom of the a cupcake tray lined with papers, trying to keep it to one side of the cup to avoid just having layers of batter.  I scooped in some chocolate, then repeated the alternating layers until the cupcake papers were 3/4 full.

I then baked the cupcakes for about 20 minutes, until the toothpick test revealed a clearly baked cake.

While the cupcakes cooled, I got on the frosting.  I made a basic buttercream with butter, powdered sugar, and milk and made it green with a bit of neon food coloring.  Hello, slime!

And finally, time to finish them off.  I used a plastic bag to pipe the frosting onto each cupcake.

Chocolate and vanilla paradise!  Of course these were great with the mix of flavors, and that super sweet frosting sealed the deal.  I will say that next time I toss some cocoa powder into a cake mix, I will add a bit more oil, as the conversion for cocoa powder to bittersweet chocolate requires a slight increase in oil.  They were not overly dry, however I love a moist cake and feel that could just improve them.  All in all, these got 2 thumbs up and marble was conquered.

Marble Cupcakes Recipe

Ingredients:

For the vanilla cake batter:
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg

For the chocolate cake batter:
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 egg

For the frosting:
1/2 cup butter
3 cups powdered sugar
4 tablespoons 2% milk
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

For the cupcakes:
In a large mixing bowl, make the vanilla portion of the batter by combining flour, sugars, baking powder, and salt and stirring well. Add in milk, vegetable oil, butter, and vanilla and beat using a hand or stand mixer for 2 minutes. Add egg and beat for 3 minutes. Set aside vanilla batter. Repeat same steps for chocolate, adding in cocoa powder at the same time as flour. Pour into cupcake pans lined with cupcake papers or sprayed with nonstick baking spray, spooning in the batter and alternating vanilla and chocolate to create marbled layers. Bake for 18-22 minutes, until you can poke the center of a cupcake with a toothpick and it comes out clean.

For the frosting:
In a large mixing bowl, beat butter using a mixer for 3-5 minutes, until it is light and fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract, beating between each new addition. Mix until the frosting reaches desired consistency. Add food coloring if desired and mix.