Easy Trini sponge cake recipe – Plain & Marble
This marble sponge cake is another Caribbean dessert favorite. Popular at birthday parties and around Christmas time, this deliciously moist and buttery cake is the perfect treat.
My fondest memories of any kind of party included having cake. And I don’t mean the birthday cake for the celebrant.
I’m talking about the cake that they serve you a few slices during the party or they send you home with, in your snack box.
This type of cake is also popular around Christmas time and might be referred to as Christmas sponge cake. If people don’t want to eat some black cake/rum cake, then they can get a slice of plain cake instead.
So here I am sharing with you not just a Caribbean sponge cake recipe, but one that you can easily turn into a marble sponge cake by adding some colors.
It’s a delicious marble cake recipe, that you can make at just about the same time you will make a box cake.
This basic sponge cake recipe is a great after-dinner treat. In this recipe, we turn a basic plain sponge cake into a colorful treat.
What is marble sponge cake?
For us Caribbean folks, a sponge cake is a light and moist yellow cake made with flour, sugar, eggs, and baking powder.
This classic favorite is also amped up with colors to make a marble sponge cake. We are a colorful set of people, so we grab pinks and some greens and add them to our cake batter, and then mix it up and make it marble.
Sometimes you might just see colors of vanilla and chocolate too. But for our Trini sponge cake, we resort to colors like it’s carnival.
How to make a Trini marble cake
Ingredients
To make the traditional plain cake, the ingredients are pretty basic.
- Granulated sugar – If you have brown sugar, you can use that, it will just make the color of the original batter a little darker.
- Unsalted butter – You need your butter to room temperature. So make sure to take it out a few hours before or even overnight.
- Flour.
- Baking powder.
- Eggs.
- Flavors: Vanilla essence, nutmeg, cinnamon powder
Then to turn this into a colorful marble cake:
- Food coloring
Equipment
Instructions
1. Prep your pans and oven.
Grease two 8-inch cake pans (use Baker’s Joy, parchment paper, or the butter-flour method). Preheat your oven to 350°F.
2. Cream the butter and sugar.
Using a paddle attachment or hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy.
3. Add eggs and vanilla.
Add eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Pour in the vanilla essence and combine.
4. Mix the dry ingredients.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg.
5. Combine wet and dry.
Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the creamed mixture until fully incorporated. This is your base sponge cake batter.
6. Divide and color.
Split the batter evenly into three bowls. Leave one bowl plain, and add food coloring to the other two (mix well so color is even).
7. Layer and swirl.
Add spoonfuls of each color into the greased pans, alternating until the pans are filled ¾ of the way. Use a knife or skewer to gently swirl for a marbled effect.
8. Bake.
Place pans on the center rack and bake for about 40 minutes. The cake is done when a knife or toothpick comes out clean and the sides pull away from the pan.
9. Cool.
Let cakes cool in the pan for 10–15 minutes, then remove and place on a wire rack to finish cooling completely.
Tips
- Don’t overfill the pans. Only go up to ¾ full—ask me how I know. 🫣
- Sift your flour. This helps keep the cake nice and light, especially with all-purpose flour.
- Room temp ingredients = better texture. Cold ingredients don’t mix as well.
- Color evenly. Add the food coloring in the center and mix outward to distribute fully.
- Crack eggs in a separate cup. No one wants to fish out a rogue shell (or worse).
- Got curdling while adding eggs? Toss in a little flour or crank your mixer speed briefly to fix it.
- Grease those pans like you love them. Spray, line, butter—whatever it takes.
- Bubbles? Drop it like it’s hot. Tap pans on the counter to release air before baking.
- Want a twist? Add lemon or orange zest for a citrusy pop.
- Use cake flour if you want. It’ll make things lighter, but measure carefully—it’s not a 1:1 swap.
Storage
Once fully cooled, you want to store this delicious cake in a cool area.
I like to wrap it with plastic wrap which helps to keep the cake moist while stored. It stays very well, once wrapped, on the counter for up to five days.
After that five days, or even before if you wish, place the properly wrapped cake in the fridge.
It is good for up to a week, once you continue to make sure it’s wrapped tightly. Or you can place it in an airtight container like a cake pan.
What to eat with marble sponge cake?
I love, love love this cake when warm, all by itself. Then cooled, it’s amazing with some ice cream like vanilla or soursop.
You can also use the actual sponge cake, after baking, to make an ice cream cake of layered ice cream and cake.
It’s also great to pair with some drinks. Grab a glass of mauby or a nice non alcoholic fruit punch.
More cake recipes
Frequently Asked Questions
That’s usually from overmixing. Gluten in flour gets activated with too much mixing, especially if you’re going at it like you vex with the batter. Keep it gentle. Also, use room temp butter and don’t overbake—it dries things out.
Yes! Wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, then foil, and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temp when you’re ready to dive in again. You can even pre-slice for grab-and-go snack cake (aka mom fuel).
Technically, yes, but you’ll be missing out on that full Trini sponge texture. If you’re short on time, though, start with a yellow cake mix and swirl in color the same way. No judgment—we’re here for cake in all forms.
Recipe
Marble sponge cake
Ingredients
Method
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease your pans.
- Cream butter and sugar till combined.
- Beat eggs in a separate bowl or add them to mixer.
- Add the essence.
- Mix flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and baking powder together.
- Add flour mixture to egg mixture till combined.
- Separate the batter in three portions. Add food coloring to two of the portions.
- Drop batter from each color into the pans, alternating colors in the mix.
- When filled, then take a spatula and mix the colors as much (or little) as you wish.
- Place in the center rack for 40 – 45 minutes. Until a knife comes out clean from the center.
- Remove from pan and let it cool for about 10 minutes.
- Then remove from pans and leave to cool on wire racks.
How many CUPS is 1 pound of butter?
How many CUPS is 1 pound of sugar?
How many CUPS is 1 pound of flour?
HI. You can use a converter https://www.inchcalculator.com/convert/pound-flour-to-cup-flour/ BUT it is much better to weight the ingredients as I have listed in the recipe.