Marble Cupcakes
These delicious marble cupcakes are made using one base batter! They're so easy to make and are frosted with a matching marble buttercream.
Servings: 16
Calories: 470kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
Marble Cupcake Batter Base
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted 170g
- 1/2 cup full-fat sour cream, room temperature 125g
- 1/2 cup water, room temperature 120g
- 1/3 cup carton egg whites or 3 large egg whites, room temperature 90g
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste 15g
- 1 cup all-purpose flour 125g
- 1 cup granulated sugar 200g
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 6g
- 1/2 tsp fine salt 3g
- 1/4 tsp baking soda 2g
Vanilla Cupcake Batter Add-In
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 40g
Chocolate Cupcake Batter Add-In
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted 25g
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature 226g
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste 12g
- 1/2 tsp fine salt 3g
- 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar 454g or 1 lb.
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream, room temperature 60g
Chocolate Buttercream Add-Ins
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate, melted and cooled 90g
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted 25g
- 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream, room temperature 60g
Instructions
Marble Cupcake Batter
- First, we work on the cupcake batter! Preheat your oven to 350°F/175°C and line 2 muffin pans with a total of 16 cupcake liners (I usually do 8 liners per pan). If you only have one muffin pan, the remaining batter can sit at room temperature for a few hours, until the first tray is baked, and you can reuse the pan. Set aside.
- Add 3/4 cup melted butter, 1/2 cup sour cream, 1/2 cup water, 1/3 cup egg whites or 3 large egg whites, and 1 Tbsp vanilla extract into a large bowl. Whisk together until combined and smooth.
- Sift 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp fine salt, and 1/4 tsp baking soda into the wet ingredients. Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined. If you don't have a sifter, add the dry ingredients into a large bowl and whisk them together before adding them to the wet ingredients.
- Pour half of the cupcake batter in a separate, medium-sized bowl (about 420g of batter). Add an additional 1/3 cup of flour to one of the bowls to make the vanilla cucpake batter and add 1/4 cup of baking cocoa powder to the other to make the chocolate cupcake batter. Whisk both bowls until the dry ingredients are just combined.
- Alternate scoops of vanilla and chocolate batter into the lined baking pans, filling each cupcake liner about 2/3 full. Swirl the batter together with a toothpick or butter knife.
- Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cupcakes comes out with a few moist crumbs. Rotate the pan halfway through to help the cupcakes bake more evenly.
- Remove from the oven and let the cupcakes cool in the pan for about 10 minutes. Then place the cupcakes on a wire rack to finish cooling. If you're in a rush, place the entire pan in the freezer for 30 minutes to accelerate the cooling process.
Marble Buttercream Frosting
- While the cupcakes bake and cool, make the marbled buttercream. Place 1 cup of room-temperature butter in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix on a medium speed for 30 seconds with a paddle attachment or hand mixer until smooth.
- Add 1 Tbsp vanilla extract and 1/2 tsp salt and mix on a low speed until combined.
- Slowly mix in 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar and 1/4 cup heavy cream on a low speed. Beat on low until the ingredients are fully incorporated and smooth.
- Scoop half of the frosting into a separate bowl and add the melted and cooled dark chocolate, 1/4 cup of cocoa powder, and an additional 1/4 cup of heavy cream. Mix until the ingredients are fully combined.
- Fit a large piping bag with your frosting tip (I used a Wilton 1M) and use an offset spatula to spread the vanilla buttercream on one side of the large piping bag. Spread the chocolate buttercream on the other half of the piping bag. This will give our frosting a gorgeous, marbled look.
- Then pipe large swirls of buttercream onto the cooled cupcakes and enjoy!
Notes
This recipe makes 16 standard-sized cupcakes. It can be doubled or halved as needed.
This recipe can also be used to make mini marble cupcakes! It makes about 50 mini cupcakes, which only need to bake for 11-13 minutes.
If you want to make a marble cake, I recommend using my marble cake recipe.
Making This Marble Cupcake Recipe in Advance
Frosted cupcakes can sit out at room temperature for a day. If you frost these cupcakes further in advance, I recommend storing them in the fridge in an airtight container. Frosted cupcakes can be refrigerated for up to 5 days. If stored unfrosted in an airtight container, they can last for:- A day at room temperature
- Up to 5 days in the fridge
- Up to a month in the freezer
Nutrition
Serving: 1 | Calories: 470kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 17g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 71mg | Sodium: 240mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 40g