Dense Chocolate Loaf Cake

After I made Nigella's Chocolate Birthday Cake I went on a bit of a cleaning spree and put away my cookbooks and when I went to blog about it, I couldn't remember what recipe I had used. While I was looking for the recipe, I found Nigella's recipe for her Dense Chocolate Loaf Cake. Nigella says that it's "pretty damn dreamy" and "as damp and sticky as gingerbread and quite as aromatic". I love gingerbread. I also loved the picture she had of the cake. I had to make it.

This is another really really easy cake. I measured everything out while baking my boiled chocolate cake and left it to get to room temperature for a few hours, then when I went to bake it everything was so easy

This cake is meant to be dense and damp and aromatic, but unfortunately I had no dark chocolate at home and I substituted milk chocolate with some Dutch unsweetened cocoa mixed through once melted. It made the cake a lot lighter than it should have been, but it tastes so good I don't even notice.

Nigella has hers sliced thinly into slivers in the photo and I've copied the idea. It's quite practical too, a thin sliver is not too large a serving but is still immensely satisfying.

Dense Chocolate Loaf Cake
from How to Be A Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson

1 cup soft unsalted butter
1 2/3 cups dark brown sugar (I just used brown sugar)
2 large eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 ounces best bittersweet chocolate, melted (I used milk chocolate)
1 1/3 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup plus 2 tbs boiling water

9 x 5-inch loaf pan

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celcius. Put a baking sheet in to catch any drips and grease and line the loaf pan. Nigella says that the denseness of the cake makes the lining doubly important.

Cream the butter and sigar and then add the eggs and vanilla, beating in well. Next fold in the melted and slightly cooled chocolate, careful not to overbeat. Then add the flour and baking soda, alternately spoon by spoon, with the boiling water until you have a smooth and fairly liquid batter. Pour into the lined loaf pan and bake for 30 minutes. Turn the oven down to 160 degrees Celcius and cooked for another 15 minutes.

Place the loaf pan on a rack and leave to get completely cold before turning it out. Nigella advised that it doesn't matter if it sinks in the middle, either.


This is my final entry in the Ultimate Chocolate Cake Challenge!