Marble Cupcakes with Chocolate & Vanilla Swirl Buttercream

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Marble cupcakes are two cupcakes in one. Two flavors made with one batter. Paired with a chocolate & vanilla swirl buttercream. Moist & delicious cupcakes.

It’s been a minute since I’ve baked cupcakes. Honestly, I can’t even remember the last time I baked them.

Mr. Kitchen Prescription and I have birthdays just days apart and we usually make a mini cake for two or small desserts and celebrate our birthdays together. We’re efficient like that.

I asked Terry as we were walking into one of those wholesale stores  “If you were to walk into a bakery and pick any cupcake to eat, what would it be?”

He thought about it a minute or two and came back. “If i had my choice I’d pick two cupcakes in one. Probably like a chocolate and vanilla swirl.”

You know. Like those twist cones from Dairy Queen. That is probably one our favorite treats to order when we get ice cream.

Marble Cupcakes with Chocolate & Vanilla Swirl Buttercream:

I’d never made a marble cupcake before so I had to do a little bit of research before I began baking them. Before I could even do that, Terry messaged me a link from a baking site. So I read through it and made notes.

I adjusted the ingredients to my liking. I also wanted a yellow cake variation with the chocolate rather than a vanilla.

What is the Difference Between Vanilla and Yellow Cake Mix?

• Yellow cake uses whole eggs (or yolks) which lend a more yellow hue to the cake mix and tend to be more dense & moist
• Vanilla cake uses just eggs whites

Vanilla and yellow cakes both have a vanilla flavor to them. It’s comes down to personal preference.

Let’s get started. This cake uses one base mix which is then separated and turned into a chocolate batter by adding unsweetened natural cocoa powder.

Make sure you are using unsweetened natural cocoa powder and not Dutch processed cocoa powder.

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You Can Follow a Quick Guide to Making Marble Cupcakes Below:

This recipe makes one dozen cupcakes and frosting will be enough for a dozen cupcakes. You can choose to make just one frosting if you wish. Just be sure to double the recipe for either the chocolate or vanilla frosting.

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Line muffin pan with 12 cupcake liners. Set aside.
• To make the cupcakes: in a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
• In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt butter in the microwave. Whisk in sugar :mixture will be gritty. Chill in the refrigerator for 1 minute. Stir in 1 whole egg and egg yolk, 1 cup buttermilk, and vanilla extract until combined. Slowly mix in dry ingredients in 3 parts until no lumps remain. Careful not to over mix. Batter will be thick. Transfer 3/4 cup of batter to smaller bowl. Mix in cocoa powder and 1 Tablespoon buttermilk (or whole milk) until combined. Chocolate batter will be even thicker.
• Spoon 1 and 1/2 Tablespoon of vanilla batter into each cupcake liner. Top with a spoonful of           chocolate batter. Give it a quick swirl with a toothpick.

• Then add more vanilla batter on top until all batter has been used up. Now swirl the batters together one last time very lightly with a toothpick.

• Bake cupcakes for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

• Cool cupcakes completely on a wire rack before frosting.

Frosting the Cupcakes with Chocolate & Vanilla Swirl Buttercream:

You can see the vanilla bean in the vanilla frosting which comes from the vanilla bean paste. I use a good quality pure vanilla bean paste and I’m totally addicted to it. I rarely use vanilla extract anymore.

• For the chocolate frosting: mix together the confectioners’ sugar and cocoa powder to assure there are no lumps. Set aside. With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy (about 2 minutes.) Gradually add the sifted sugar/cocoa powder alternately with the heavy cream or whole milk and vanilla. Beat on low speed after each addition. Once all added, beat on high speed until creamy and combined for at least 2 minutes. Add a pinch of salt if frosting is too sweet.
• For the vanilla frosting: With a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium speed until creamy – about 2 minutes. Add confectioners’ sugar, heavy whipping cream (or whole milk,) and vanilla extract with the mixer running on low. Increase to high speed and beat for 3 full minutes. Add more confectioners’ sugar if frosting is too thin or more cream if frosting is too thick. Add a pinch of salt if frosting is too sweet.

• Frost cooled cupcakes with a spatula or with a piping bag/tip. *** Lay down a large piece of plastic wrap on the counter. Add the chocolate frosting in the center of the plastic wrap and smooth out frosting leaving about an inch or so from the bottom edge. Now layer the vanilla frosting on top of the chocolate frosting and smooth out as above. Roll the plastic wrap up making sure side is secured shut and twist off the top of the plastic. Make sure the bottom plastic has an easy opening. Delicately handle the plastic filled with the two frostings. Now place plastic wrap filled with layered frostings into a large piping bag fitted with a 1 M tip .There may be leftover frosting depending how much you use on each cupcake. It can be placed in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to two weeks.

These might be one of my favorite cupcakes I’ve made to date. I love how they turned out. And they were moist and delicious. Even 3 days later.

You can store your cupcakes in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. If they make it that long.

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