Chocolate fruit and nut loaf

The best chocolate fruit loaf. This chocolate loaf with prunes and walnuts is dense and substantial, deeply chocolatey and moist without being heavy or stodgy. Packed with plenty of prunes and walnuts, with a hint of orange, it is wonderfully soft. Could this be an alternative to a traditional Polish fruit loaf for Easter? I added prunes, walnuts and candied orange peel, but you can use your favourite dried fruit and nuts. However, the total quantity should not exceed that given in the recipe below, otherwise the cake will crumble too much when sliced. The loaf can be made several days before Easter and stored tightly wrapped in cling film. Highly recommended!

Ingredients for the chocolate fruit and nut loaf:

• 120 g plain flour
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• ¾ teaspoon baking powder
• 125 g butter
• ⅔ cup caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 100 g dark chocolate (70% cocoa), melted in a bain-marie and cooled slightly
• 100 g prunes, cut into small pieces
• 100 g walnuts, chopped
• 30 g candied orange peel
• ½ tablespoon plain flour, for coating the fruit and nuts

Additionally:

• 70 g chocolate of your choice (e.g. dark chocolate), melted in a bain-marie, for the top

All the ingredients should be at room temperature. Toss the prunes, walnuts and candied orange peel with ½ tablespoon of plain flour, coating them evenly.

Place the butter and sugar in the bowl of a mixer and beat until light and fluffy. Gradually add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition until fully incorporated. Add the vanilla extract and melted chocolate and mix together. Sift the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder directly into the chocolate mixture, then fold briefly with a spatula, just until combined. Add the fruit and nuts and fold through.

Transfer the batter to a loaf tin, previously greased with butter and dusted with plain flour (I used a disposable aluminium tin measuring 7.5 x 17 cm at the base and 12 x 21 cm at the top). The cake does not rise very much, so whichever tin you use, the raw batter should fill it almost to the top.

Bake the chocolate fruit and nut loaf at 160°C for about 55 minutes or longer, until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool slightly in the tin, then remove and cool completely on a wire rack. Decorate the top with the additional melted chocolate.

Enjoy!