Devil’s food loaf

I’ve told you already that I’m not easily seduced by chocolate cakes, but sometimes I feel like making nothing but something with chocolate and when that happened last I remembered Annie Bell’s amazing chocolate Victoria sponge cake I made years ago and I knew that if I made one of her recipes I would be glad with the result.

I love how certain authors automatically come to my mind when I want something very specific.

The result was indeed really good: this is a much simpler cake, made in a loaf pan and with a rich and delicious glaze that transforms the cake into a wonderful dessert. One could, of course, omit the glaze for a tea time treat and serve the cake with some icing sugar on top only – that would still get you a great cake, I guarantee. But if you want something slightly more decadent, to finish up a dinner or to go with a movie session, go ahead and prepared the glaze, too – I am sure you won’t regret it.

Annie Bell writes for The Daily Mail, and I highly recommend you check her recipes out.

Devil’s food loaf
slightly adapted from Annie Bell

Cake:
½ cup (45g) unsweetened cocoa
¾ teaspoon baking soda
3 medium eggs*
1 1/3 cups (233g) brown sugar, packed
½ cup (120ml) canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup (140g) all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt

Frosting:
60g dark chocolate, chopped – I used one with 70% cocoa solids
1 tablespoon (14g) unsalted butter
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa, sifted
2 tablespoons whole milk
½ tablespoon honey

Lightly butter a 20x10cm (8x4in) loaf pan, line it with paper and butter the paper as well. Whisk the cocoa with 100ml boiling water in a small bowl using a small whisk, then whisk in the baking soda and leave to cool for about 20 minutes – in the meantime, preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.

Whisk together the eggs, sugar and oil in a large bowl using an electric whisk until smooth and combined. Whisk in the vanilla. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt over the mixture and stir. Stir the cocoa mixture. Pour into the pan and give it a couple of taps on the work surface to bring up any bubbles. Bake for about 1 hour or until the cake is risen and a skewer inserted at the centre comes out clean. Run a knife around the edge of the cake, leave for 10 minutes and then carefully unmold onto a wire rack to cool. Once cooled, peel off the paper and place onto a serving plate.

For the frosting, gently melt the chocolate with the butter in a medium bowl set over a saucepan of simmering water. At the same time combine the cocoa, milk and honey in a small saucepan and heat almost to boiling point, giving it a whisk. Pass this through a sieve into the bowl with the melted chocolate and whisk to a thick, glossy icing. The icing can set quickly so should be used straight away (but if necessary you can rewhisk it in the bowl over the heat with a teaspoon or two of water).

Smooth the glaze over the top of the cake, taking it to the edge and letting it drip down. Set aside for a couple of hours for the frosting to set.

The cake will keep well in a covered container for several days.

* since I only had large eggs at hand, I selected the smallest I could find to use in this recipe

Serves 6-8