Red Velvet Marble Cake Recipe

Y’all this Red Velvet Marble Cake recipe is straight up holiday perfection!  It’s better than red velvet cake because with this one you get both vanilla and red velvet flavors swirled together in a perfectly tender, moist, and absolutely decadent pound cake. And let me tell you, it’s an absolute hit boos! Folks will be begging you for the recipe, no lie!

They’re Lovin’ It! Here’s what They’re Sayin’:

“Baked this cake for Christmas and received requests for more! So delicious!”

—REBECCA

It’s the most wonderful time of the year!!!  My Christmas music is on full blast with my fave Christmas music (hey Jackson 5) on repeat, and my house is feeling so festive and holiday ready.  My baking is also in full throttle.  Tis’ the season to holiday bake for your boos, and this red velvet marble cake is the ultimate treat to bake up.

This red velvet marble cake is the perfect twist on the classic.  In fact, I think it is easier to make even though the stunning swirls throughout make it seem like a true revelation.

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The Lowdown of This Red Velvet Marble Cake

Cuisine Inspiration: Southern vibes

Primary Cooking Method: Baking

Dietary Info: Can be made gluten-free with ingredient swaps

Key Flavor: Vanilla and delicate chocolate flavors are swirled together for a perfectly tender, moist and absolutely decadent pound cake.

Skill Level: Intermediate (working with two different batters boos!)

Ingredients to make a red velvet marble pound cake

• Butter: I prefer using a European unsalted butter for this cake. The butter really creates the most sensational rich flavor because of its higher fat content.  I love that richness so much.
• Cream Cheese: Adds a lot of richness and more complex flavors to the cake.
• Oil: Adds amazing moistness to the cake as well.
• Eggs: Gives the cake it’s stability and they’re essential to the cake’s texture.
• Cake Flour: Using cake flour all-purpose flour keeps the gluten from developing too much creating a tougher cake texture.
• Sugar: Granulated sugar sweetens and tenderizes the cake while powdered sugar is used to make the creamy glaze because it more easily dissolves into the liquid making the glaze nice and smooth.
• Vanilla: Pure vanilla extract works best for adding warming aromas and flavors to your cake!
• Unsweetened Cocoa: Adds the delicate cocoa flavor to the red velvet swirl.
• Red Food Coloring: I suggest using red food coloring paste rather than liquid for a more intense red color that won’t affect the consistency of the cake batter.
• Milk: Just a touch to give the icing its pourable consistency. Any type of milk works.

How to Make a Red Velvet Marble Cake

Step 1: Mix the Cake Batter

1

Combine the butter and cream cheese in a mixing bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer. Beat for two minutes at high speed. 

2

Add the sugar and oil to the bowl and continue beating on high speed for an additional five minutes until the mixture is a very pale yellow and fluffy.

3

Add the eggs, one at a time, combining well after each addition and scraping down the sides to incorporate everything into the batter. 

4

Finally add the flour to the cake batter in two increments and then add salt. Mix on low and be careful not to over beat. Add in the vanilla extract and scrape down sides.

Step 2: Create the Red Velvet Batter

5

Mix the batter one final time.

6

Split the cake batter evenly between two separate bowls.

7

Add the cocoa powder, red food coloring, and hot water into one bowl. 

8

Whisk together until the batter is completely well mixed.

Step 3: Bake it Up!

9

Alternate dollops of vanilla and red velvet cake batter into a Bundt cake pan.

10

Swirl the batter with a skewer to create the marbled look.

11

Bake the cake for 1 hour and 15 -20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

12

Invert the cake onto a serving plate and let it cool for at least an hour or until the cake is cool to the touch.

Step 4: Ice it Up!

13

Combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract in a bowl.

14

Mix together until it’s smooth.

15

Pour it over the top of the cooled cake.

16

Allow the glaze to drip down the sides of the cake.

What to Serve with Red Velvet Swirl Cake

• Other bundt cakes. Why not create a dessert table for a party that’s all bundt cakes! Give your guests a bit of variety by serving it alongside this Gingerbread Bundt Cake and Peppermint Chocolate Pound Cake or this Buttered Rum Eggnog Cake Recipe for the holidays. Other times of the year enjoy it with other classics like a Sour Cream Pound Cake or a Strawberry Pound Short Cake!
• Enjoy with a hot beverage. Serve up this cake for after dinner with an espresso or your favorite coffee drink, peppermint hot chocolate, apple cider, or creamy eggnog.
• After your holiday dinner. This cake is perfect for holidays and special occasions following a special dinner with Steak au Poivre, Fried Turkey, or Honey Glazed Ham.
• Summer picnics. Indulge on Fried Chicken, Southern Hush Puppies, Fried Catfish, Vinegar Coleslaw, and all your picnic favorites before ending the meal with this spin on a traditional Southern cake.

Meal Plan: Holiday Menu with Red Velvet Marble Cake Dessert

Prime Rib is the ultimate main to serve for an epic holiday dinner.

Classic potato gratin is cheesy, comforting and absolutely delish for the holidays.

Creamed spinach is the best way to serve your veggies for the holidays.

Easy Christmas punch is perfectly flavorful and sweet.

Expert Tips and Tricks for Making the Best Marble Red Velvet Cake

• Alternating the Batters. Use two different utensils to keep the colors from bleeding into each other. This will ensure a more distinct and striking marbled pattern.
• Create Swirls. Use a skewer or toothpick to carefully create swirls. Begin with big swirls and then go back in to make smaller adjustments after looking at the big picture.  Just don’t overswirl so the colors don’t blend too much.
• A Perfectly Tender Cake. To make sure your cake cooks with a light and tender texture it’s important to measure your ingredients properly and to avoid over-mixing the batter. Scoop your flour into the measuring cup with a spoon and level it off and make sure to mix the flour into the batter using low speed. This applies for all my bomb cakes too.
• Room Temperature Ingredients. Your ingredients will mix together more easily with creamier results when you start with room temperature butter, cream cheese, eggs, and milk.
• Cool the Cake In the Pan. Just for a short time to prevent the cake from breaking when you flip it. As the cake cools down it will continue to cook a bit and will be less delicate when you give it a slight cool in the pan before inverting it onto the serving plate.

Popular Substitutions & Additions

• Cake Flour: If you don’t have cake flour you can easily make cake flour using all-purpose flour and cornstarch.
• Garnish: Sprinkle some cake crumbs, finely chopped nuts, chopped chocolate, or even some toasted coconut over the top of the glaze for a bit of decoration and additional flavor.
• Swap the Glaze: While a cream cheese icing or frosting is the traditional pairing for red velvet cake you can leave it off and simply sprinkle with powdered sugar, add a chocolate glaze, or a simple vanilla glaze instead.
• Red Food Coloring: You can swap it for any color of food coloring to make the cake fit a holiday or special occasion! Who says you can’t have a Green Velvet Cake or Blue Velvet Cake!
• Chocolate Chips: Add some mini chocolate chips to the red velvet batter for more intense chocolate flavor!

How to Store Red Velvet Marble Cake

Place it in an airtight cake container or wrap it up tight to keep it from drying out then pop in the fridge due to the icing.

If you’re making the cake ahead of time, wait to add the glaze until you’re ready to serve. Cool the cake completely and then wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and then in foil (if freezing) and store it in the freezer or refrigerator until ready to use. If you’re making it only a day ahead, it’s ok to store the marble cake at room temperature until you add the frosting.

How long will red velvet marble cake last in the fridge?

It will last up to 7 days in the fridge.

Can I freeze marble red velvet cake?

Yep, you can! You have the option to freeze the whole bundt cake intact or individual slices of cake. I recommend not freezing the bundt cake after adding the glaze. The glaze may not remain the same consistency during the thawing process.

Allow your bundt cake to cool completely before freezing. Wrap the cake tightly in plastic wrap, then again in foil. Freeze for up to 6 months. Allow the cake to thaw overnight in the fridge.

Frequently Asked Questions

Y’all, if you wanna dazzle everyone with an epic dessert, this is the one that you serve up. This red velvet marble cake is jaw-dropping with an irresistible mix of vanilla and chocolate flavors. Get into it!

Favorite Bundt Cake Recipes

• Cream Cheese Pound Cake
• Brownie Swirl Pound Cake
• Chocolate Swirl Bundt Cake
• Red Velvet Bundt Cake
• Blueberry Orange Bundt Cake
• Strawberry Pound Cake

Red Velvet Marble Cake

Red Velvet Marble Cake Recipe is holiday perfection with its combination of both vanilla and red velvet flavors swirled together in a perfectly tender, moist and absolutely decadent pound cake.

4.40 from 74 votes

Print Pin Recipe

Prep Time 25 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 40 minutes mins

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Author: Jocelyn Delk Adams

Course: Dessert

Servings: 16 servings

Equipment

• 1 12 cup bundt pan
• 1 Stand mixer

Ingredients

For the Cake:

• ▢ 1 ½ cups unsalted Butter room temp, 3 sticks
• ▢ 8 ounces cream cheese room temp, 1 block
• ▢ 3 cups granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 tablespoon vegetable or canola oil
• ▢ 6 large eggs room temperature
• ▢ 3 cups cake flour
• ▢ 1 teaspoon salt
• ▢ 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the Swirl:

• ▢ 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• ▢ 1 tablespoon red food coloring
• ▢ 1 tablespoon hot water

For the Icing:

• ▢ 4 oz cream cheese room temperature
• ▢ 2 cups powdered sugar
• ▢ 4 tablespoons milk
• ▢ 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

For the Cake:

• Start by preheating your oven to 325°F then liberally spray a 12-cup Bundt® pan with non-stick baking spray.
• In your mixer bowl, add butter and cream cheese and beat for two minutes on high speed. Next, slowly add in sugar and oil then continue beating on high speed for an additional five minutes until it’s a very pale yellow and fluffy.
• Next, add eggs, one at a time, combining well after each addition and scraping down the sides as needed.
• Turn your mixer down to its lowest speed, and slowly add flour into batter in two increments then add salt. Be careful not to overbeat.
• Lastly, add in vanilla extract, scrape down sides and mix until just combined and turn off mixer.
• Pour 1/2 of cake batter into a separate bowl and set aside. Whisk in cocoa powder, red food coloring and hot water until completely well mixed.
• Alternate dollops of vanilla and red velvet cake batter into Bundt® pan using a skewer to swirl batter.
• Bake for 1 hour and 15 -20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
• Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then invert cake on serving plate for at least an hour or until the cake is cool to the touch.

For the Cream Cheese Icing:

• Mix cream cheese, powdered sugar, milk and vanilla extract until smooth then pour over top of cooled cake and serve.

Video

Notes

How to Store Red Velvet Marble Cake

Place it in an airtight cake container or wrap it up tight to keep it from drying out then pop in the fridge due to the icing.

If you’re making the cake ahead of time, wait to add the glaze until you’re ready to serve. Cool the cake completely and then wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and then in foil (if freezing) and store it in the freezer or refrigerator until ready to use. If you’re making it only a day ahead, it’s ok to store the marble cake at room temperature until you add the frosting.

How long will red velvet marble cake last in the fridge?

It will last up to 7 days in the fridge.

Can I freeze marble red velvet cake?

Yep, you can! You have the option to freeze the whole bundt cake intact or individual slices of cake. I recommend not freezing the bundt cake after adding the glaze. The glaze may not remain the same consistency during the thawing process.

Allow your bundt cake to cool completely before freezing. Wrap the cake tightly in plastic wrap, then again in foil. Freeze for up to 6 months. Allow the cake to thaw overnight in the fridge.

Nutrition

Calories: 553kcal | Carbohydrates: 71g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 139mg | Sodium: 245mg | Potassium: 98mg | Sugar: 53g | Vitamin A: 925IU | Calcium: 45mg | Iron: 0.7mg

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