These beautiful Harvest Marble Cupcakes topped with chocolate frosting and displaying the gorgeous colors of fall are the perfect treat for any Fall, Autumn, or Thanksgiving celebration.

Closeup on four Harvest Marble Cupcakes sitting on a white serving platter, the front cupcake cut in half.

We’ve made these Marble Cupcakes in a few other color combinations (please don’t make us pick our favorite) and like the others, these Autumn-themed Harvest Marble Cupcakes really pack a punch on a dessert table. If you are looking to take cupcakes and chocolate frosting to the next level … this is the recipe for you! These are some of the prettiest cupcakes we have ever made.  So bright and colorful. They are perfect for an Autumn potluck or even a non-pie Thanksgiving dessert option.

How to Make Harvest Marble Cupcakes

Collage image showing how to color the cake batter red, orange, yellow and green.

Step 1: Using a White Cake Mix, we made the batter according to the directions on the back of the box.  Then we split the cake batter into four equal portions.  We used a food scale to measure each portion but as you can see in these pictures it was approximately 1 cup of cake batter for each color. 
Step 2: Using our Wilton Color Right Food Coloring we tinted the cake batter four different colors – Gold, Burnt Orange, Forest Green, and Harvest Red. Here are the amounts of food coloring that we used to achieve these pretty Fall colors:

Gold = 4 drops of Wilton Color Right Yellow and 1 drop of Orange
Burnt Orange = 4 drops of Wilton Color Right Orange Food Coloring, 2 drops of Yellow, 1 drop of Red, and 1/2 drop of Brown
Forest Green = 10 drops of Wilton Color Right Yellow Food Coloring, 1 drop of Blue, and 1 drop of Brown
Harvest Red = 8 drops of Wilton Color Right Crimson Food Coloring

Collage image showing how to create the marbling effect for the cupcakes.

Steps 3-5: To make the marble effect we used a small spoon to alternate small drops of colored cake batter into the cupcake liner.  There is no wrong way to layer in the colored cake batter – have fun. No two cupcakes will look alike!

Overhead shot of a cupcake pan filled with unfrosted Harvest Marble Cupcakes.

Step 7: Bake the cupcakes in an oven preheated to 350 degrees for 18 minutes.  Here are the Cupcakes just out of the oven.  They are so pretty, even without the frosting.

How to Make the Chocolate Frosting

Closeup on a white spatula covered with homemade The Best Chocolate Buttercream Frosting.

Step 8: While the cupcakes are cooling, make a batch of our Best Chocolate Buttercream FrostingYou can find all the ingredients and detailed directions right here.

Closeup on two Harvest Marble Cupcakes topped with Chocolate Frosting with one cut in half to show the marble cake inside.

Step 9: To frost the cupcakes, we used a Wilton 2D Frosting Tip to make this frosting swirl but you could also just apply the frosting with a knife.   The inside of the cupcakes is the real wow factor!  No two Harvest Marble Cupcakes looked the same … which we love! Finally, we topped our Harvest Marble Cupcakes with some beautiful fall sprinkles that match the four colors of our cupcakes!

Closeup on two Harvest Marble Cupcakes, one cut in half, showing the marbling effect in the cupcake.

Other Fall Desserts You Will Love

Harvest Marble Cupcakes

Yield 18 cupcakes
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 18 minutes
Additional Time 10 minutes
Total Time 38 minutes

These beautiful Harvest Marble Cupcakes topped with chocolate frosting and displaying the gorgeous colors of fall are the perfect treat for any Fall, Autumn or Thanksgiving celebration.

Ingredients

Instructions

  1. Using a White Cake Mix, we made the batter according to the directions on the back of the box.  Then we split the cake batter into four equal portions.  We used a food scale to measure each portion but as you can see in these pictures it was approximately 1 cup of cake batter for each color. 
  2. Using our Wilton Color Right Food Coloring we tinted the cake batter four different colors - Gold, Burnt Orange, Forest Green, and Harvest Red. Here are the amounts of food coloring that we used to achieve these pretty Fall colors: Gold = 4 drops of Wilton Color Right Yellow and 1 drop of Orange Burnt Orange = 4 drops of Wilton Color Right Orange Food Coloring, 2 drops of Yellow, 1 drop of Red and 1/2 drop of Brown Forest Green = 10 drops of Wilton Color Right Yellow Food Coloring, 1 drop of Blue and 1 drop of Brown Harvest Red = 8 drops of Wilton Color Right Crimson Food Coloring
  3. To make the marble effect we used a small spoon to alternate small drops of colored cake batter into the cupcake liner.  There is no wrong way to layer in the colored cake batter - have fun. No two cupcakes will look alike!
  4. Bake the cupcakes in an oven preheated to 350 degrees for 18 minutes.  Here are the Cupcakes just out of the oven.  They are so pretty, even without the frosting.
  5. While the cupcakes are cooling, make a batch of our Best Chocolate Buttercream FrostingYou can find all the ingredients and detailed directions right here.
  6. To frost the cupcakes, we used a Wilton 2D Frosting Tip to make this frosting swirl but you could also just apply the frosting with a knife.  Finally, we topped our Harvest Marble Cupcakes with some beautiful fall sprinkles that match the four colors of our cupcakes!

Did you Make this Recipe? Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @twosisterscrafting on Instagram so we can see it!