One of my sons is at a volleyball camp for the weekend (the other is playing football... so yeah, sport). The volleyballers were asked to bring a plate of food to share for morning tea. I had to make something that didn't require refrigeration, would travel well, would get better with age (as I made it the day before), wouldn't be too messy for teenage boys to eat (does such a thing exist?), wasn't overly indulgent (remembering that they are athletes) and something that 14 year old boys would go mad for (this is a popularity contest after all). Enter this deep, dark, moist, moreish, fudgy, sticky, most perfect chocolate cake. Of course I had to make two cakes so that I could have my cake and eat it too perform rigorous quality control tests on one (making sure it would meet all the above mentioned criteria) and, if it got a pass mark, send the other one off with the little... I mean very tall, darlings. PS: It passed with flying crumbs... I mean, colours.
Seriously Good Chocolate Loaf Cake
slightly adapted from here
225g unsalted butter, at room temperature
375g dark muscovado sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extact
100g dark chocolate, melted
200g plain four
¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
250ml boiling water
Preheat the oven to 190 C. Slide a baking sheet into the oven on the middle shelf to warm it up. Grease and line a 23 x 13 x 7cm (2 litre capacity) loaf pan with cooking oil spray and then line the base and sides with baking paper. Set aside.
Mix the flour, salt and baking power together in a bowl and set aside.
Put the butter and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium-high for about 5 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla, beating well. Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a spatula to fold in the melted chocolate. Add a third of the flour mixture and gently fold it in. You don't want to incorporate too much air into the batter. This is going to be the most deliciously dense, damp cake and too much air would negate that. The add half of the boiling water, stirring until it is almost incorporated. Add another third of the flour mixture, followed by the remaining water and finally the last third of flour.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 170C and continue to bake for a further 15 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out with moist crumbs clinging to it.
Place the loaf on a wire rack to cool completely in the pan. Turn it out and cut into thick, satisfying slices.
Mix the flour, salt and baking power together in a bowl and set aside.
Put the butter and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium-high for about 5 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla, beating well. Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a spatula to fold in the melted chocolate. Add a third of the flour mixture and gently fold it in. You don't want to incorporate too much air into the batter. This is going to be the most deliciously dense, damp cake and too much air would negate that. The add half of the boiling water, stirring until it is almost incorporated. Add another third of the flour mixture, followed by the remaining water and finally the last third of flour.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 170C and continue to bake for a further 15 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle of the cake comes out with moist crumbs clinging to it.
Place the loaf on a wire rack to cool completely in the pan. Turn it out and cut into thick, satisfying slices.
If it's a seriously good cake, then I'm in :) As alwaayysss!
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