Wednesday 13 June 2018

Nigella's Quadruple Chocolate Loaf

Chocolate, chocolate, chocolate and yes another chocolate!  Since we've just had Nigella on Aussie TV recently, I thought why not jump on the bandwagon and make one of her cakes?  I've been using her books for years, and Feast is one of my faves.  I think I've made nearly every recipe in this book, including most of the cakes.  All except this one, for some odd reason.  So here we go; let's see how it went.  (Yep, good!)     



ready to bake


ingredients:


For the cake batter:


200g. plain flour

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

50g. cocoa powder

275g. caster sugar

175g. butter, softened (not melted)

2 large eggs

1 tbs vanilla extract 

80mLs sour cream

125mLs boiling water

175g. dark (or milk) chocolate chips


For the syrup:

1 tsp cocoa powder

125mLs water

100g. caster sugar

25g. dark chocolate, chopped/shaved with a knife or veg. peeler


Method:


Grab your food processor and throw in the flour, bicarb, cocoa, sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla and sour cream

Give it a good whiz till you have a smooth batter

Scrape down the sides and pour the boiling water down the funnel while you give it another whiz

Remove the lid and the blade, and stir in the choc chips

Pour the batter into a lined, large loaf tin - I used a paper loaf-tin liner, while Nigella says to use greased foil or just clingfilm

Place the loaf tin on the baking sheet that you have already put into the oven at 170C

Bake for about an hour

About 45-50 minutes into the bake, make your syrup

Put the cocoa, water and sugar into a small saucepan

Bring to the boil, and simmer for about 5 minutes

Test the cake with a skewer; don't worry if it's a wee bit damp

Put the tin on a cake rack, and joyfully pierce the loaf all over with the skewer

Now pour the lovely, reduced syrup over the holey cake

Let it get completely cool then take out of the tin

Throw the chocolate shards over the top, and cut into pretty slices


Notes:

In Feast, Nigella uses clingfilm to line the tin, but the online recipe says to use greased alfoil.  Clingfilm is fine in the oven, apparently.  But tin liners are the easiest:=) 

I simmered the syrup for a couple of extra minutes so it was slightly thick

Nigella says to bring everything to room temp. but we have to be a bit careful in sunny QLD 'cos it is hot!  and you may end up with salmonella:=)

Her recipe states to use unsalted butter but I actually like the tang from salted butter - so there, my fine friends :=)

I didn't have any dark choc bars in the pantry, so I used a Flake bar - I know, lazy but still good:=)

My loaf tin is 23 x 12.5 x 6.5 cm. (9 x 5 x 2.5 inches)





gathered ingredients



everything except the choc chips goes into the food processor



yep, I want to eat it with a spoon too!



ready for the oven @170C for about an hour 



let the syrup simmer for about 5 mins. (or 6-7)




tip the chocolatey liquid all over your holey cake 



ready to eat:=)




artwork by sherryspickings

18 comments:

  1. Sherry, I love Nigella's cakes too. Ok I will give this one a try as well. I missed her last series, they are always inspiring. Pauline

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Pauline
      I love nigella and her recipes. Some people say her recipes don’t always work but I have always found them to do so Never had a problem:). Cheers sherry

      Delete
  2. Hi Sherry, that sounds dead easy and yummy, if not so good for our hearts 😁Glenda

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    Replies
    1. Hi Glenda
      Thanks for dropping by. Yep it’s a fabulously easy cake to make! Cheers S

      Delete
  3. This is one of my favourite cakes of hers! It's so rich and decadent.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lovely rich cake this was, and even better with a bit of cream!

    ReplyDelete
  5. The ready-to-bake batter is always so tempting! Your finished cake looks perfect.

    best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thanks so much Mae. I do love an easy cake. Processor cake is champion. cheers S

      Delete
  6. We're using salted butter more than we used to in the past. Sometimes that tang, as you describe it, is just needed. Anyway, this looks terrific. Tangy, even. :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. thanks KR. i so rarely use unsalted butter. i think a bit of salt is great in just about everything. cheers S

      Delete
  7. This looks delicious and suitably decadent. It's on my to bake list for sure.
    Cheers,
    Laura

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. hi laura
      nigella's cakes are always fab! we liked this one too. cheers

      Delete
  8. Wow that looks so delicious - I have been dreaming of chocolate muffins all week and now I will be dreaming of this cake instead

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Johanna
      It’s quick and easy to make- hint hint :). Cheers S

      Delete

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