Chocolate Orange Loaf Cake

This is a deliciously simple but rich and moist chocolate cake.

I saw the recipe on another food blog (http://www.josblueaga.com) for the loaf cake itself last week. It looked such a rich chocolatey colour, plus the sponge recipe is similar to that of a brownie. So I guessed it would be more dense and goody than a usual chocolate cake. So couldn't wait to have a go at making it.
Just because I can never quite leave a recipe as it is, I added my twist which was the Chocolate Orange topping. It went down very well!

This recipe is so adaptable I will certainly be trying it out with other flavours. I think it would work well with a chocolate ganache topping and some roasted nuts.
Alternatively you could add raspberries as I think chocolate and raspberries go beautifully together.
Or make it more of a triple chocolate cake, buy adding white chocolate chunks to the mix and topping with melted milk chocolate with white chocolate shavings or buttons. Yummy! 

If those flavours appeal to you, give this a try. 

Ingredients:

125g softened butter or stork

125g soft light brown sugar

100ml full fat milk

50g cocoa powder

150g self raising flour

1/2 tsp bicarb

3 eggs

100g dark chocolate (broken into pieces)

Zest of 1 orange

To decorate:

100g of milk chocolate.(I used dairy milk)

1 Terrys Chocolate Orange. (you can use as much or as little as you like. There will definitely be some left over for nibbling!)

Method:

Line your loaf tin. Or use a loaf tin liner 

Preheat the oven to 160 degree C (fan) gas mark 3

Start by placing the milk, butter, sugar and cocoa powder into a large pan stir and heat until the butter and sugar have melted and the mix is well combined, now stir in the chocolate chunks (they don't need to melt completely. Leave to one side for at least 10 mins to cool. 

Weigh the flour and bicarb into a bowl.

In a separate bowl or jug, whisk the eggs with a fork and set aside.

Once the chocolate mixture has cooled, pour the chocolate liquid into the flour along with the eggs, mix together until smooth and lump free. 

Add the zest of the orange and mix.

Pour the mix into the prepared tin and bake in the oven for 25 mins or until a skewer comes away clean when inserted into the centre. 

Please be aware that the cake may not quite look cooked, but the idea is that it should still be gooey, like a brownie. If you have a good rise after 25 mins it will be ready.

Leave to cool in tin.

Once the cake has cooled, melt the chocolate by placing in a glass bowl above a saucepan of boiling water. Drizzle the chocolate over the cake generously and top with chocolate orange slices.

Enjoy! 

p.s there is less guilt with a loaf cake as the slices are generally smaller!