Moist Marble Pound Cake Recipe

One of the best things about many desserts is not so much how they taste, but how they look. Just think of the most elaborate wedding cake you've ever seen. Or think of a perfect pie with lovely lattice work — was the flavor anything special, or was it just the look that was so impressive? Whereas a fancy cake or pie look great right up until the moment you slice into them, this marble pound cake is one of those rare desserts that actually looks better once it's cut into pieces, not worse. In fact thanks to the lovely swirls within, you can't even fully appreciate this pound cake until you slice it.

Of course, full appreciation requires a bite, which reveals it to be a delightful treat that's sweet without being overwhelming and that has a delightful chocolatey taste balanced out by the vanilla. "We love this cake, and it's perfect with a cup of tea," says chef and recipe developer Ting Dalton of Cook Simply. You can also enjoy this dessert with coffee, a glass of milk, or even a glass of red wine. It's also possible to serve some hot cocoa to double down on the chocolate goodness.

This tasty and gorgeous pound cake doesn't call for any unusual ingredients — it's all about how you use everyday supplies you have in your pantry. All told, you'll need all-purpose flour, baking powder, salt, eggs, soft brown sugar (as it's often called in the UK — it's usually light brown sugar in the U.S., FYI), vegetable oil, vanilla extract, milk (divided for different parts of the recipe), and cocoa powder.

"You can use caster sugar instead of brown sugar, but I like the brown sugar as it adds moistness and a darker color," says Dalton. And for the Americans out there, for the record, "caster sugar" is essentially just superfine white sugar. (Not powdered sugar, though!)

Preheat the oven to a rather modest 320 degrees Fahrenheit, then grease and line a non-stick loaf pan. Next, in a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt together, and then set these dry ingredients aside.

Now, in another mixing bowl, add the eggs, soft brown sugar, vegetable oil, vanilla extract, and seven tablespoons of milk. Using a mixer (you can use a stand mixer, electric beater, or prepare for a lot of hands-on work), mix the ingredients together until they are well combined, which will take around two minutes.

Now add the flour to the wet batter, and stir to combine them well until you have a smooth batter. It will be fairly wet, but this is the correct consistency. "This cake is much wetter than many batters," Dalton says, "but that's okay. It's what makes this cake super moist."

Take one cup of the batter you just mixed, and separate it in another bowl or a large mixing cup, then stir the cocoa powder and three tablespoons of milk into it. Mix these all until well combined, which will result in a much darker batter.

Now turning to your prepared loaf pan, alternating between the two batters, carefully spoon portions of each batter into the pan until you have used up both. Next, using a long skewer or a thin knife, swirl the batter together. Try to do it right up to the edges so you don't just get swirls in the middle, but be sure not to overmix and blend the batters, or you might lose the swirl effect.

The hands-on work for this cake is now done. Pop the loaf pan into the preheated oven and bake the pound cake for one hour, or until a skewer in the middle comes out clean. Watch for any burning and stop the baking early if need be.

Once it's out of the oven, let the pound cake cool in the pan for about 20 minutes before lifting it out of the baking pan to cool completely on a wire rack. Once cool, slice it into thick pieces and enjoy.

"This pound cake will keep in an airtight container for three to four days," says Dalton, adding: "You could also freeze the cake whole and then thaw it for 24 hours before eating."