Chocolate loaf cake

This chocolate loaf cake is very rich, chocolatey and fudgy. Lighter than brownies and soaked in sticky syrup, with some extra chocolate sprinkled on top. It tastes perfect with fresh strawberries and crème fraîche. This is one of the moistest and most flavorful chocolate cakes I have ever made. You will fall in love with this cake!

Ingredients for the chocolate loaf cake:

• 200 g plain flour
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 50 g cocoa powder
• 200 g caster sugar
• 175 g butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 80 ml soured cream
• 125 ml boiling water
• 175 g dark or milk chocolate chips

All ingredients should be at room temperature.

Put the flour, bicarbonate of soda, cocoa powder, sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla extract and soured cream into a food processor and blitz until you have a smooth brown batter. Add the boiling water and mix well. Stir in the dark or milk chocolate chips.

Prepare a loaf tin measuring 21 × 11 cm (7.5 cm deep) and line it with baking paper.

Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake at 170°C for about 60 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. When it’s ready, the loaf will have risen and split down the middle.

Twenty minutes before the end of the baking time, prepare the syrup: boil the water, cocoa powder and sugar in a saucepan. Cook for a few minutes until some of the water has evaporated and the syrup becomes sticky, with the sugar lightly caramelised. Take the cake out of the oven, place it on a cooling rack and pierce it all over with a skewer. Then pour the syrup over the surface of the cake. Scatter the grated chocolate over the top (it will stick to the warm, sticky cake).

Ingredients for the syrup:

• 1 tsp cocoa powder
• 125 ml water
• 100 g sugar
• 25 g grated dark chocolate, for sprinkling

Enjoy!

Recipe source: “Feast” Nigella Lawson.