When I was growing up, my mother made a cake every single Sunday. It didn’t matter how busy the week had been—Sunday meant dessert, and dessert meant cake. As my sister and I got older, we were invited into the tradition. First we helped, then eventually we took turns making the Sunday cake ourselves.

When I became a young mother, the tradition naturally followed me. To this day I still make a special dessert for Sunday dinner, and more often than not, it’s cake—especially any kind of chocolate cake.

Years ago, I decided to try my hand at a marble cake, and it quickly became my son Robert’s favorite. After over-baking it once (just once!), he affectionately renamed it “Crummy Cake,” and the name has stuck ever since. The original recipe came from a very well-loved Better Homes and Gardens cookbook—one of those old ones with the pages soft from use.

Over time, though, I noticed the texture was a little dense, and after making it again and again, I started tinkering with the recipe. For the past few months I’ve been tweaking and adjusting, aiming for something lighter without losing that classic buttery flavor.

Last Sunday, I think I finally found the winner.

So here it is: my made-from-scratch Marble Cake—again, but better. Recipe included below.

---

Made-From-Scratch Marble Cake

Ingredients

Cake

• 1/3 cup butter
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 3 cups cake flour
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• Water (to make cocoa paste)

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

• 1/3 cup butter
• Pinch of salt
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder

---

Instructions

For the Cake

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9″ x 13″ baking dish.
2. Cream butter, oil, and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Add eggs and vanilla; beat until well combined.
4. Sift together cake flour, baking powder, and salt.
5. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk, mixing until just combined.
6. Pour all but about 1 1/2 cups of the batter into the prepared pan.
7. In a small bowl, mix cocoa powder with enough water to form a medium-thick paste.
8. Stir cocoa paste into the reserved batter.
9. Drop spoonfuls of chocolate batter over the plain batter.
10. Swirl with a spatula to create the marble pattern—do not over-swirl.
11. Bake 30–35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely.

For the Frosting

1. Cream butter, salt, vanilla, and 1 cup of powdered sugar mixed with cocoa until fluffy.
2. Add remaining powdered sugar and milk alternately until smooth and creamy.
3. Spread over cooled cake.