Go Back
Slice of Norwegian marble cake on a white plate with a cup of coffee

Norwegian Marble Cake (Marmorkake)

A buttery Norwegian marble cake with vanilla, lemon zest and a cocoa swirl, baked in a simple loaf pan. Perfect sliced thick with coffee.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Cooling 1 hour
Total Time 2 hours 20 minutes
Servings: 12 slices
Course: Cake, Dessert
Cuisine: Norwegian, Scandinavian
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 200 g butter ¾ cup + 2 tbsp / 1¾ sticks, softened
  • 250 g granulated sugar 1¼ cups
  • 2 tsp vanilla sugar or 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 3 large eggs room temperature
  • 1 lemon finely grated zest only
  • 240 g all-purpose flour about 2 cups (spooned and leveled)
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 100 ml heavy cream or whole milk scant ½ cup
  • 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder about 12 g, sifted

Equipment

  • Long loaf pan, 12½ × 4¼ × 2½ inches (32 × 11 × 6.5 cm) We bake this in a long Nordic loaf tin. A standard 9 × 5-inch loaf pan works too — the cake comes out taller, so add 5–10 minutes.
  • Digital kitchen scale We bake by weight — 240 g of flour is the number that matters, not the cup.
  • Stand mixer or hand mixer Creaming the butter and sugar until pale takes 4–5 minutes; a mixer does it properly.
  • Fine-mesh sieve For sifting flour, baking powder and cocoa lump-free.
  • Microplane zester Takes only the yellow zest, none of the bitter white pith.
  • Parchment paper Lines the pan so the cake lifts straight out.

Method
 

  1. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C), conventional setting. Grease a long loaf pan, 12½ × 4¼ inches (32 × 11 cm), and line it with parchment paper, letting it run up over the long sides so the cake lifts straight out.
  2. Beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, 4–5 minutes.
  3. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each.
  4. Mix in the vanilla sugar (or extract) and lemon zest.
  5. Sift the flour and baking powder over the batter and fold in together with the cream or milk, just until smooth.
  6. Transfer about one third of the batter to a separate bowl and stir in the sifted cocoa until evenly dark.
  7. Spoon the batters into the pan in four layers: half the dark batter, half the light, then the rest of the dark and the rest of the light on top.
  8. Drag a skewer or chopstick through the batter in a few loops to create the marble pattern. Don't overdo it.
  9. Bake for about 1 hour, until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Ovens vary, so start checking at 50 minutes. In a deeper 9 × 5-inch pan, allow 5–10 minutes more and tent loosely with foil if the top browns too quickly.
  10. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then lift out with the parchment and cool completely on a rack before slicing.

Notes

Chef's tip: build it in four layers — dark, light, dark, light — and keep the swirling to three or four loops. More layers and fewer passes give you bold, defined marbling instead of a muddy cake.
Room temperature matters: with this much butter, cold eggs will split the batter. If it curdles, add a spoonful of the measured flour and keep mixing.
Storage: keeps well wrapped at room temperature for 4–5 days. Freezes well sliced for up to 2 months.