marble cake made of two differently coloured cake mixtures briefly stirred into each other at the last minute before cooking. When cut the cake has a marbled appearance. Any light cake mixture can be used; usually a white or angel food cake mixture is combined with a chocolate version of the same thing.
It appears to have originated in N. America, perhaps around 1860. Recipes were being published in both the USA and Canada before 1870.
© the Estate of Alan Davidson 1999, 2006, 2014 © in the Editor’s contribution to the second and third editions, Oxford University Press 2006, 2014.