Description
This Orange and Black Halloween Marble Cake is a festive treat combining rich chocolate and vibrant pumpkin-flavored batters swirled together to create a spooky marble effect. Perfect for Halloween celebrations, it features a moist loaf cake with a delightful glaze and decorative sprinkles and candy eyes for a fun finish.
Ingredients
Scale
Cake
- 180 g self raising flour
- 180 g salted butter
- 180 g soft brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 100 ml milk
- 7.5 g black cocoa powder (approximately 1 tablespoon)
- 15 g pumpkin powder (approximately 2 tablespoons)
- 2 teaspoon pumpkin spice mix
- ⅓ teaspoon baking powder
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- A few drops of orange food coloring
- A few drops of black food coloring (optional)
Glaze and Decoration
- 75 g powdered sugar
- 1½ tablespoon warm water
- Black and orange sprinkles
- Eyeball candy
Instructions
- Preheat and Prepare Pan: Preheat the oven to 175℃ and grease and flour an 8 inches by 4 inches loaf tin at least 3 inches deep to prevent sticking.
- Cream Butter and Sugar: Measure the butter into a large bowl and cream until soft. Add the brown sugar and beat on medium speed for at least 2 minutes until light and fluffy, scraping the bowl halfway.
- Add Eggs: Add eggs one at a time, beating until no visible traces remain, without overbeating. Scrape bowl and mix well between additions.
- Combine Dry Ingredients: In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin spice mix until well combined.
- Incorporate Dry Ingredients and Milk: Sift one third of dry mix into wet mixture and fold gently with a spatula. Add half the milk and fold. Repeat with next third of dry mix, remaining milk, and final third of dry mix, mixing well after each addition. Scrape sides and bottom to combine thoroughly.
- Flavor Batter: Fold in vanilla extract. Remove one third of batter into a separate bowl, sift black cocoa powder in, and mix well. Let it rest 2 to 3 minutes for color development, adding black food coloring if needed for deeper black color. Into remaining batter, sift pumpkin powder and add orange food coloring to intensify color, then mix well.
- Layer and Marble Batter: Spoon batters alternately into prepared pan starting with orange batter, leveling each layer. Drop spoonfuls of black batter onto orange batter randomly, layering alternately until all batter is used. Use a skewer to swirl horizontally, vertically, and diagonally for a marble effect.
- Bake the Cake: Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean with no wet batter. Let cake rest in pan for a few minutes before turning out onto wire rack to cool completely.
- Prepare Glaze: Sift powdered sugar into a small bowl, add warm water, and mix well until smooth.
- Decorate: Once cooled, place cake on a plate or board. Transfer glaze into a piping bag, snip tip, and drizzle to create drips down the sides. Sprinkle with black and orange sprinkles and add eyeball candy decorations.
Notes
- Make sure eggs are at room temperature to prevent curdling of batter.
- Manually folding the flour into the batter is best to avoid overmixing, which can make the cake tough.
- Sift cocoa powder and powdered sugar to avoid lumps in the batter and glaze.
- Food coloring intensifies after resting; begin with a few drops and add more if needed after a few minutes.
- Keep the cake wrapped in a kitchen towel while cooling to maintain moisture; once warm, wrap in plastic and refrigerate until completely cooled before glazing.
- Place a tray under the cake when decorating with sprinkles to catch any stray sprinkles and reduce mess.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 slice (approx. 1/12 loaf)
- Calories: 280 kcal
- Sugar: 18 g
- Sodium: 150 mg
- Fat: 14 g
- Saturated Fat: 8 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 35 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Cholesterol: 70 mg
