Please don’t tell me that I made a mistake. I purposely emphasised the extreme chocolate-ness of this cake because I really wanted to make it clear that this is serious chocoholic business. This loaf cake is definitely good but it’s not for everyone. It’s not that I want to discriminate – far from it! It’s just that it’s very dense. I would suggest serving it with something else, like for example some berries for some tartness to make up for the sweetness provided by the chocolate and sugar in the recipe. This cake could easily be a chocoholic’s dream. Oh and also: please don’t comment on the photo – I had some extra chocolate icing to spare and wanted to use it!
This recipe is taken from Nigella’s How to be a Domestic Goddess with minor variations. So for this gooey, moist cake you need:
- 225g unsalted butter, softened
- 200g dark brown sugar
- 175g light brown sugar
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 100g dark chocolate, melted and slightly cooled
- 200g plain flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 250ml boiling water
Preheat the oven to 190ºC/374ºF/Gas mark 5, and grease and line your loaf tin.
Whisk the butter and both sugars together till they form a creamy consistency, then add the eggs and vanilla extract and continue whisking.
Add the slightly cooled chocolate and fold it gently into the eggy mixture, trying not to overbeat. This cake should be dense so you don’t want a fluffy consistency here.
In a small bowl combine the plain flour and the baking powder, and add this to the cake batter, one spoon at a time and mix gently with the boiling water until the batter is smooth and somewhat liquid, but not too much.
Pour this into the lined loaf tin and bake for 30 minutes at 190ºC; then turn the oven to 170ºC/approx 340ºF/Gas mark 3 for 25 minutes. Always keep an eye on it to prevent any burns and check the cake with a skewer or sharp knife, although here you’re looking for a gooey cake so the knife should not come out squeaky clean.
And as always…enjoy!
Rob x
Chorizo & Thyme 