A marbled chocolate and vanilla loaf cake that’s perfect for breakfast, or a snack cake! This cake is fluffy, yet moist, and is very easy to eat, with a bit of a light almond aftertaste.

This marble cake has been a long time coming. I’d been hesitant to try re-creating it, since it is a cake that is synonymous with my grandmother for me. My grandma was an amazing woman. Aside from being a fantastic baker, she was so many things, but most importantly, she was a strong role model that helped raise me, and someone I will forever look up to. Lekach is a traditional Eastern European honey cake – which I’ll admit, this is not. So yes, we call it lekach in my family, and I’m not exactly sure why – but this is always what I’ve associated with the term Lekach. Of course my grandma also made a more “traditional” lekach with honey, she made layer cakes, she made Napolean cakes – she made all these different desserts. But this marble lekach was the one that she would bake and slice, and wrap little slices of in a napkin, and bring it over to our home just for me. I remember as a little girl being so impressed by those brown and white waves in the cake, wondering how she managed to do that. I didn’t start baking until I was an adult -so my grandma never got to see or taste my baking. But I hope that if she got to taste this lekach – she would be proud of it, and enjoy it with a small cup of coffee or tea, and be proud of me. When I bite into this lekach, it reminds me of her. And so I hope you enjoy it and share it with your loved ones now! 

What You’ll Need. . .

• Unsalted butter
• eggs
• granulated sugar
• milk
• sour cream
• lemon or orange juice
• lemon or orange zest
• vanilla extract
• almond emulsion
• flour
• baking powder
• baking soda
• salt
• cocoa powder
• dark chocolate chunks
• vegetable oil

How to make the Lekach

1. Melt the butter in the microwave. Whisk together melted and cooled butter with the eggs in a large bowl. Whisk in the sugar. Add in the milk, sour cream, juice, zest, vanilla extract and almond emulsion and mix until combined. 
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the  flour, baking soda and powder, salt. Add it to the batter and fold in. Preheat the oven to 350F
3. Melt chocolate in the microwave in 30 second intervals, mixing in between. Add the vegetable oil and continue mixing. Split batter in half and fold the chocolate and cocoa powder into half of the batter. 
4. Butter a 9 inch loaf pan and line it with parchment paper. Use a silicon spatula to smooth in half of the vanilla batter in the bottom of the pan. Next spread in half of the chocolate batter. Continue with the second half of the vanilla batter, and add the chocolate batter in spots on top. Swirl with a knife a few times. Bake for 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the lekach comes out clean. Remove and let cool completely, and then remove from pan with the parchment paper, and slice and enjoy!

If you liked this recipe, you might want to try. . .

1. Lucky Charms Loaf Cake
2. Chocolate Cinnamon Babka
3. Pumpkin Chocolate Swirl Muffins

Tried this recipe?

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Print Recipe

Grandma's Marble Lekach

A moist marbled chocolate and vanilla loaf cake, just like my Grandma used to make it

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time55 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 10 minutes mins

Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American, Eastern European

Keyword: Grandma's lekach, lekach, marble, marble cake, marble lekach, marble loaf, marble loaf cake, marbled bread, marbled cake, marbled loaf cake

Servings: 1 9 inch loaf

Ingredients

• ½ cup unsalted butter
• 3 eggs
• 1½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ cup milk
• ¼ cup sour cream
• 2 tbsp fresh squeezed orange juice lemon juice okay instead
• ½ tsp orange zest lemon zest okay instead
• 1½ tsp vanilla extract
• ¼ tsp almond emulsion
• 2¼ cup flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 tbsp cocoa powder
• ½ cup dark chocolate chunks
• 1 tsp vegetable oil

Instructions

• Melt the unsalted butter in the microwave in 20 second intervals. Let cool. Whisk together melted and cooled butter with the eggs in a large bowl. Whisk in the sugar until smooth.
• Add in the milk, sour cream, fresh squeezed orange juice, zest, vanilla extract and almond emulsion and mix until combined. 
• In a separate medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and powder, and salt. Add it to the batter and fold in. Preheat the oven to 350F.
• Melt chocolate in the microwave in 30 second intervals, mixing in between. Add the vegetable oil and continue mixing. Pour half the batter into a medium bowl. Fold the chocolate and cocoa powder into half of the batter. 
• Butter a 9 inch loaf pan and line it with parchment paper. Use a silicone spatula to smooth in half of the vanilla batter in the bottom of the pan. Next spread in half of the chocolate batter. Continue with the second half of the vanilla batter, and add the chocolate batter in spots on top. Swirl with a knife a few times. Bake for 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the lekach comes out clean. Remove and let cool completely, and then remove from pan with the parchment paper, and slice and enjoy!