Serves: 8
Yield: 1 30- x 11-cm cake
Ready in: 1 hour 20 mins (20 mins prep - 1 hour cook)

Ingredients for marble cake

250 g butter

230 g white sugar

Few drops of vanilla essence

4 eggs

500 g plain flour

1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder

150 ml milk

3 tablespoons cocoa powder

Preparation method for marble cake

Use a 30- × 11-cm loaf tin. Lightly grease and flour tin, tapping out any excess. Preheat oven to 180°C.

Place butter in a large mixing bowl; beat until creamy. Add sugar (reserve 1 tbsp) and essence and beat until well combined and pale and fluffy.

Add eggs one at a time, stirring until well combined. Sift flour and baking powder onto a plate. Reserve 2 tbsp milk and stir the rest into the batter, alternating it with the flour. Spoon two-thirds of the batter into the prepared tin.

Stir sifted cocoa powder, 1 tbsp sugar and the last of the milk into the remaining cake batter and spread over the batter in the tin.

Twist a fork through the layers of batter to produce a marbled effect. Smooth the top and bake for 60–70 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.

Turn cake out onto a wire rack to cool.