It’s National Chocolate Week from the 11th to 17th October and the perfect time to bake and eat lots of chocolate! I decided to keep it simple as I'm watching my waistline, (ha who am I kidding but seriously I am) and bake this Chocolate Orange Loaf Cake from Nigella Kitchen. I adore the choc/orange combination and find it totally irresistible. This loaf cake may look plain but it was very moreish and didn’t last longer than a day! The sponge was fluffy, light and very moist, with the chocolate and orange blending together delightfully!
Chocolate Orange Loaf CakeIngredients
150g soft unsalted butter, plus some for greasing
2 x 15ml tbsp golden syrup
175g dark muscovado sugar
150g plain flour
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
25g best-quality cocoa powder, sifted
2 eggs
zest 2 oranges and juice of 1
1 x 900g (2lb) loaf tin
Preheat the oven to 170oC/150oC fan oven/gas mark 3 and line your loaf tin with baking parchment or a paper loaf-tin liner.
Beat the already soft butter with the syrup and the sugar until you have a fairly smooth caffé Americano cream, though the sugar will always have a bit of grit about it.
Mix the flour, bicarb and cocoa powder together, and beat into the syrup mixture 1 tbsp of these dry ingredients before beating in 1 egg. Then add another couple of spoonfuls of the dry ingredients before beating in the second egg. Carry on beating in the remaining dry ingredients and then add, still beating, the orange zest and finally, gradually, the juice.
Pour and scrape into the prepared tin and bake for 45 minutes, though check 5 minutes before and be prepared to keep it in the oven 5 minutes longer if need be. Leave to cool a little in the tin on a wire rack, then turn out with care and leave on the rack to cool.
I am in the US and wondering when the recipe says syrup-could you be more descriptive? Pancake? Corn? Simple?
ReplyDeleteI used pancake syrup in the Banana Butterscotch Pudding, which was great by they way! It worked out, but I could be completely wrong about what kind of syrup is required.
Also, do you know how great it is to live in the country that brought us all Top Gear?
Chocolate and orange is a marriage made in heaven. Your cake looks lovely. :)
ReplyDeleteGolden syrup is only available in the UK but you might be able to purchase it online. I have read that the near equivalent is your corn syrup. Glad to hear the pudding turned out good. My Hubby loves Top Gear!
ReplyDeleteMaria
x
this looks sooooooo good. i could eat a big hunk of that right now!!! yummy and chocolatey. :)
ReplyDeleteHey ab, i recently moved to the us and i see that they sell golden syrup in the some international sections in some supermarkets!
I love the chcolate and orange combination in the cake, i too think it is always a perfect combo.
ReplyDeleteVake looks really good.
Maria we get here golden syrup too.
Nigella always delivers the best recipe. And looks like you really did it justice! Your cake is so smooth (no cracks lucky you) and looks great even though there's no icing. Well done. And I'm glad to know it's the national chocolate week as I'm searching for the best chocolate cake recipe at the moment and that's so appropriate.
ReplyDeleteSounds scrumptious. My other half would definitely love this one.
ReplyDeleteBTW my Lemon Curd & Blueberry Loaf Cake was delicious. Though next time I think I'll use dried Blueberries instead of fresh as they give a more intense flavour. That's not to say I didn't like it made with fresh, because I did. Thanks for the recipe.
Have a lovely weekend.
Jill x
Hi there!! Glad to come in here, can totally relate to the way you feel about the kitchen being the best place in the world:-)
ReplyDeleteChocolate and orange is one of the most divine combos, and in a cake like this, it will be heaven in every bite.
OMG I am so trying this out!!!!!!! I love chocolate and orange, and it looks seriously moorish!! Oh should I or should I not buy this book....? It's very tempting!!
ReplyDeleteNooooooo I said no more lovely recipes!! Lol... Although I did make muffins this week! Will print this out to add to my "make after holiday is over" pile... xx
ReplyDeleteI love chocolate and orange too and this sounds lovely. Sometimes the simplest cakes can be the best.
ReplyDeleteThat looks amazing! I was given this book for my anniversary by my husband, but I haven't gotten around to making anything from it yet. This will definitely on my to-try list.
ReplyDeleteMaría! I love chocolate cake and my Mom make one amazing, but I love your cake when I saw because an chocolate/orange loaf cake is the best!!! always I loved the marriage of chocolate and orange, lovely recipe! gloria
ReplyDeleteAnother lovely Nigella cake, I love chocolate and orange and must try this delicious looking cake.
ReplyDeleteI've just put this in the oven. If the finished product tastes anything near as good as the batter then I don't expect it to last more than a couple of hours! I must get this book...
ReplyDeleteLove how chocolatey brown this loaf is. Yum!!!!
ReplyDeleteThat looks delicious and moist Maria. I'm with you on the chocolate and orange combo - fabulous indeed!
ReplyDeleteThe texture of that cake is delish - it looks so moist and rich. Cut me a thick slice please!
ReplyDeleteMmmm - I love chocolate and orange as a combination. This cake wouldn't last long round here either!
ReplyDeleteWow, that looks so delicious! Will have to make this one next!
ReplyDeleteThis recipe went down very well at home! Though i must admit i may have eaten some very large slices.
ReplyDeleteI made a small batch of cupcakes from this recipe and the only thing I can say is this: DELICIOUS!
ReplyDeleteI have been looking for something to bake for an upcoming Halloween party my friend is hosting and I think I've found it right here. Easy and mouth-watering, the perfect combination. Thank you so much for sharing this. *w*
I'm from Italy and I was looking for a chocolate pears cupcake recipe, I found your and I cooked them today, they are very good! thank you very much , I will try also this chocolate and orange cake.
ReplyDeleteIf you want come to visit my blog, you are welcome!
Laura
Thanks for posting! I'm trying this on the weekend :) x
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to having a go at the chocolate orange loaf this weekend.
ReplyDelete