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Home » Eats & Drinks » How to Create a Marble Drip Cake

How to Create a Marble Drip Cake

Published on January 31, 2017 Updated on February 25, 2022 by Eden

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If you are looking for a fun and pretty way to decorate a cake for a party, this marble drip cake is for you! Follow this decorating tutorial for and easy drip cake with a marble effect, and you’ll have a stunning cake in a matter of minutes! Also check out our marble candy apples!

marble cake with blueberries and gold leaf and a marble drip title.

We’re sharing a deliciously easy way to create a marble drip cake! Drip cakes can be so intimidating to make, but to be honest, they’re actually a fairly simple way to frost a cake!

Two marble drip cakes on a work surface

As long as you’re comfortable using fondant to cover the cake, the frosting part is easy peasy! Fondant isn’t difficult either, it just takes some strength and time to roll it out!

We used a simple icing recipe and added a little corn syrup to keep some of the shine.

A close up of the side of a marble drip cake.

How to Make a Marble Drip Cake

Table of Contents

  • How to Make a Marble Drip Cake
  • Supplies to Make a Drip Cake
  • Directions
  • A Fun Decorated Cake
  • Tips for Decorating
  • When to Serve a Marble Drip Cake
  • More Recipes You’ll Love!
  • Marble Drip Icing

Supplies to Make a Drip Cake

Fondant – Homemade or store-bought. You can try our marshmallow fondant recipe too!

Rolling Pin – Used to roll out the fondant.

Fondant Smoother – To get a smooth texture.

Baking Sheet and Cookie Rack – Used to place the cake so the icing can drip down and not create a mess.

Measuring Cup with Spout – To pour the icing over the cake.

Fondant being rolled out.

Directions

Bake a homemade cake. We love this vanilla recipe and this is our favorite chocolate cake. We also love our funfetti cake too!

Bake the cake in a standard 8″ round cake pan. Lightly frost the cakes before adding the fondant.

Knead and roll out the fondant to about 1/4 inch thick. Then place it over a lightly frosted cake.

The reason you frost the cake is so the fondant will stick to it and hold. Frost all the way down the sides, top, etc.

Fondant being smoothed over the cake

Place the fondant on top and then smooth it out using the fondant smoother. This will remove any bumps, it doesn’t have to be perfect!

If you need, store these cakes in the refrigerator for one day.

3 cakes covered with fondant.

Place a rack on a rimmed cookie sheet and place the cake on top. This way the frosting will fall beneath.

A fondant covered cake on a metal rack

Make the frosting (recipe below) and add in drops of desired food coloring. We used food coloring gel for this recipe.

Don’t stir it, it will marble as you pour. Since we love blue so much, we did different shades of it to create our marble effect. You can use any colors to make this cake!

A jug with icing and food coloring in it

Pour the icing over the top of the cake and watch it drip down the sides. It’s awesome to see the colors blend together and make such stunning patterns!

marble icing being poured over the cake

In about 30 minutes, your marble drip cake will harden and keep its shape!

Top shot of the cake with marble icing covering the surface

A Fun Decorated Cake

This cake is perfect for any occasion.

This is great for a birthday cake, and you can make it with the person’s favorite color.

Tips for Decorating

  • Make sure your cake has cooled to a warm temperature before decorating.
  • Once the cake is covered in fondant, you can let it cool in the refrigerator for 30 minutes if needed.
  • Remember to place the cake on a rack over a cookie tray before pouring the icing over. This will ensure you don’t end up in a mess!
  • Finish decorating the cake with fresh fruit or edible flowers.
  • For the marbling, try to stick to different shades of the same color. It will give the marble drip cake a marble look.
  • To make it even easier, call your local bakery and order an 8″ round cake covered in white fondant. Then all you need to do is add the icing.
Shot of a marble drip cake on a tray

When to Serve a Marble Drip Cake

This cake is perfect for parties or special occasions. Here are ideas when you can serve a marble cake:

Birthday Party it’s also perfect for a last-minute birthday party!

Carnival Party

Garden Party 

Tropical Party

Graduation Party

Baby Shower

Bridal Shower

A marble drip cake decorated with blueberries and gold leaf

More Recipes You’ll Love!

Looking for more? Here are some of our top cake recipes!

Super Moist Pumpkin Bread

Neapolitan Sheet Cake

The Best Coconut Loaf

Ice Cream Sundae Cake

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Classic Banana Cake Recipe

Now that you know how to make the most amazing marble drip cake, show us your pictures! Please tag us on social and leave a comment below!

You can also FOLLOW US on FACEBOOK, INSTAGRAM, and PINTEREST to see more delicious recipes, cocktails, desserts, and parties!

Blue tie-dye frosting dripping from the side of cake

Marble Drip Icing

An easy and pretty cake decorating technique
4.63 from 53 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 0 minutes
20 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 1 large cake
Calories: 1468kcal
Author: Eden

Ingredients

  • 3 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 tbsp corn syrup
  • 1/4 cup warm water
  • 1/2 tsp almond extract
  • food coloring, gel or drops

Instructions

  • Cover a round cake in fondant.
    Laying out fondant on a cake
  • Add all of the ingredients, except the food coloring, in a bowl and whisk until smooth.
  • Add in drops of food coloring, or use a wooden popsicle stick to add drops of gel food coloring to the icing. Do not mix it. It will give it’s own marbling effect when it’s poured.
    Food color dripped on fondant covered cake
  • Place the fondant cake on a cooling rack with a cookie sheet underneath.
    White fondant cake
  • Pour the icing over the top and let it dry.
    Blue marble icing dripping off of cake

Notes

Nutritional values are based on the whole recipe.
Use any colors of food coloring you like. 

Nutrition

Calories: 1468kcal | Carbohydrates: 376g | Protein: 0g | Fat: 0g | Saturated Fat: 0g | Cholesterol: 0mg | Sodium: 24mg | Sugar: 369g | Iron: 0.2mg
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61 Comments

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. SHERIE ELLIOTT says

    July 30, 2021 at 10:15 am

    Does the drip icing set hard? I need to ice a bowling ball cake.

    Reply
    • Eden says

      July 31, 2021 at 6:40 pm

      Not super hard but it does set.

      Reply
  2. Melany says

    July 15, 2021 at 1:36 am

    Do you have to put fondant icing on first?

    Reply
    • Eden says

      July 16, 2021 at 4:02 am

      It helps with the marble frosting to have the fondant. You can try with a smooth, thick buttercream but I would make sure it’s cold. It might not work though.

      Reply
  3. Marsa Mattatia says

    June 23, 2021 at 10:06 pm

    Hello will this work if I cover the cake in royal icing first as its to cover a fruit cake. I want to use greens to make a water lily pond.

    Reply
    • Eden says

      June 28, 2021 at 7:59 pm

      Hi! We’re not sure if that would work. If you try it let us know!

      Reply
  4. Barb says

    June 16, 2021 at 3:53 pm

    Can I use the marble effect on a cookie cake

    Reply
    • Eden says

      June 16, 2021 at 5:34 pm

      We’ve done this on cookies that have fondant frosting and we dipped them into a bowl of marble icing. It did work! You can see the cookies here https://sugarandcharm.com/easter-brunch-ideas

      Reply
  5. Amrita says

    June 7, 2021 at 6:19 pm

    Hi! Love this technique😍can I skip the corn syrup? Do you think this will work on buttercream? Thank you

    Reply
    • Eden says

      June 8, 2021 at 2:38 am

      Hi! Thank you! Unfortunately we don’t think it will work if you skip the corn syrup.

      Reply
  6. Sandy J. says

    November 16, 2020 at 4:19 am

    5 stars
    I tried this on a fondant cake and i love how it looks except that on mine it seems the icing drip broke away a little so I have spots where there is just color runand no icing. The icing is very clumpy in spots. I’m thinking my cake was maybe too cold? Or my icing too warm?

    Reply
  7. Sini says

    November 11, 2020 at 11:20 pm

    Will this work over cream cheese frosting??

    Reply
    • Eden says

      November 12, 2020 at 2:46 pm

      Most likely not, but if you try it let us know!

      Reply
  8. Heather says

    October 20, 2020 at 1:43 am

    5 stars
    HI i have to make the cake 2 layers i was wondering if i would be able to double the recipe will it still work thanks

    Reply
    • Eden says

      October 20, 2020 at 5:03 pm

      Yes try to double and that should cover it!

      Reply
  9. Kayla says

    October 13, 2020 at 10:53 am

    5 stars
    This is amazing! First time I’ve baked a proper cake, and I couldn’t be happier with the end product. I used teal, royal blue and sky blue for the icing and it almost looks like a gemstone, so gorgeous!

    Reply
    • Eden says

      October 13, 2020 at 1:20 pm

      Thank you Kayla! Love hearing that!!

      Reply
  10. Sarah says

    October 12, 2020 at 10:30 pm

    5 stars
    Hi i am making this cake this weekend and was wondering if you need to use gel food colouring and if so how did you get different shades thanks

    Reply
    • Eden says

      October 13, 2020 at 1:20 pm

      You can use gel and you can mix the colors to make different shades or leave them and they will blend together as you pour.

      Reply
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