Chocolate Loaf

Everyday Chocolate Loaf - A Cookbook Collection 2

 

Well, did everyone watch the Great British Bake Off final? I won’t give away any spoilers here but I loved this series and was delighted for the winner. I had a day off on Wednesday so I decided I had to make a cake to have while watching the final. I wanted something simple and I was thinking brownies, but I have to be honest, I have yet to be convinced that brownies are as great as everyone makes them out to be. So I remembered seeing this Everyday Chocolate Cake on the Smitten Kitchen blog by Del Perelman. I love the way she has a whole section on everyday cakes – it’s like permission to eat cake all the time!

After scratching my head converting from cup measurements, I came up with the recipe below. I use less sugar and the original recipe stated light brown sugar, but I used dark brown sugar to give a richer taste. Make sure to use really good cocoa powder, it does make a real difference. I use Valrhona or Green and Blacks. It’s a very simple but rich, dark loaf, perfect with a cuppa!

 

Makes 10 slices

Everyday Chocolate Loaf - A Cookbook Collection 4Everyday Chocolate Loaf - A Cookbook Collection 3

 

Ingredients:

  • 110g unsalted butter softened
  • 150g soft dark brown sugar
  • 100g caster sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 250ml buttermilk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 180g plain flour
  • 75g good cocoa powder
  • ¼ tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • Icing sugar to decorate

Method:

  • Preheat your oven to 170c/150c fan/gas mark 3.
  • Butter and lightly flour a 2 lb loaf tin.
  • Cream the soft butter for a few minutes with a mixer. Then add the sugars and continue to beat until the mixture is fluffy. That will take about 8 minutes.
  • Add the egg and beat well before adding the buttermilk and vanilla. Continue to beat the mixture.
  • The original recipe says that it may not look like it will come together, I’d go so far as to say it looked curdled! It does come together though, I assure you.
  • Sieve the flour, cocoa powder, bicarb of soda, baking powder and salt into the wet mixture.
  • Fold everything together just until it is combined, you don’t want to over-mix cake batter.
  • Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf tin and bake for 60-70 minutes. Mine took the full 70 minutes but check after an hour. The cake is done when a skewer comes out clean.
  • Allow it to cool for 15 minutes in the tin before turning it out onto a cake rack to continue cooling.
  • Dust over some icing sugar before serving and if you want to fancy it up, serve with some whipped cream or vanilla ice cream and berries.

Everyday Chocolate Loaf - A Cookbook Collection

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