Easy Chocolate Loaf Cake

A recipe for easy chocolate loaf cake with very few steps and taste just as good as those with complicated steps and call for whipping of items separately. I have been using this recipe for a long time to make gooey chocolate lava min pots using muffin trays. This is the first time trying it out as a chocolate loaf cake and it was mighty good! Ugly, moist and not too sweet! Indeed a good cake recipe for keeps.

You’ll need:

  • 170g unsalted butter, softened
  • 170g chocolate , melted ( I used baking chocolate 80%) over warm water in a bain marie just put into the microwave. ( These days I just put the chocolate pieces into the microwave and do for a short 20 seconds, stir and repeat till all melted; works just as fine)
  • 80g white sugar
  • 45g brown sugar ( You can use all white sugar or all brown sugar if you prefer)
  • 150g eggs or about 3 large eggs, beaten
  • 70g all purpose flour
  • 1 tsp of pure vanilla extract
  • 6g baking powder or 3/4 tsp
  • a pinch of salt

Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 160 C .
  2. Melt the chocolate.
  3. Mix the softened butter into the melted chocolate.
  4. Mix in the rest of the ingredients in.
  5. Pour into a well greased or lined loaf pan of 9 by 5 inch.  This should be enough to make a loaf of 800g.  Do not overfill as it may overflow when it rises. Any excess, can be poured into a muffin tray and baked.
  6. Chill for 1 hour in the fridge until the top layer develops a dry layer before popping into the oven. This helps develop the crust.
  7. Bake for 45 minutes. Stick a wooden skewer into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, the cake is fully cooked. However, if you prefer the cake to be a little more fudgy and squidgy, cook for 35 minutes and check every 5 minutes till it reaches the consistency that you prefer. The skewer will not come out completely clean.
  8. Let cool on a rack for 30 minutes. Cool completely before turning it out. Don’t panic if it sinks a little in the middle. If you intend to underbake it a little and gets a denser, squidgier center, pls let it cool for a longer time before turning it out.
  9. Decorate with yoghurt mixed in with lemon and orange zest, cut fruits, berries and nuts or whatever you fancy.

Variations:

  • Add orange zest or orange extract instead of vanilla extract if you love yours citrusy.
  • Reduce the baking time slightly, if you prefer your loaf cake a little more fudgy or squidgy.
  • If you prefer, you can make them in small muffin trays. For this, bake about 15 minutes, as they would cook a lot faster.
  • For the topping, you can use creme fraiche, whipped cream, cream cheese or chocolate sauce if you like.
  • Serve slightly warmed or at room temperature.

Makes one 800g loaf and a little extra.

 

Ugly chocolate cake

After baking, the cake sank a little and did not have the nice smooth texture. Initially, i was intending to just add a little lemon zest


Easy chocolate cake

Chocolate cake topped with yoghurt, fresh fruits and nuts.


Easy chocolate cake

A slice of chocolate cake