I was sent a copy of ‘After Toast – Recipes for Aspiring Cooks’ by Kate Gibbs to review in my day job as a journalist at The Leader newspaper. I brought it home to test some recipes and the first one to get the Hungry Mum treatment was her recipe called All About The Chocolate Loaf. I adore chocolate cakes that actually use chocolate, rather than cocoa, and this delivers that intense choc hit I was after. Ms Gibbs said the cake improves over a day or two but I served mine that evening. She suggests sesame & almond praline as an accompaniment but I lathered mine with dark chocolate ganache and walnut pieces.
GATHER:
1 1/3 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon bicarb soda
130g dark choc melted
200 g butter, diced, at room temperature
1 ¼ cups brown sugar
2 large eggs
splash vanilla
1 cup boiling water
LET’S GET TO IT:
Preheat oven to 190C and grease and line a 23cmx 13cm loaf pan.
Sift flour with bicarb, set aside.
Cream butter and sugar in bowl of electric mixer until pale, then add eggs one at a time, then vanilla.
Fold in melted chocolate. Add one heaped spoon of flour at a time and boiling water alternately, stirring after each addition [I didn’t end up using all the water]. Batter will be runny. Make sure there are no lumps.
Pour into pan and bake for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to 170C and cook for another 15 minutes.
Remove and allow to cool for about two hours before turning on a wire rack. When cold dress with choc ganache or icing sugar.
the hungry mum 
Looks very yummy! all chocolate cakes should have actual chocolate in them!
Agree. Should be the law, really.
This chocolate loaf looks beautifully dark and delicious!
Thanks! Choc cake is always a winner 🙂
OMG, yum!
It is actually! Thanks x
I love dark chocolate!!! 😉
I hear that, girlfriend Give me dark choc over milk choc ANY day!
Woah this looks soo deadly gooood! I don’t know why I don’t make chocolate cake loaves more often.. love the first shot with the ganache coming down the sides mmmmm
Thanks! Love a loaf, they are compact and easy to cut. And I always have a container of ganache in my fridge for emergencies 🙂
Waw! What a stunning & very divine looking chocolate cake & I love thet drizzled frosting too!
Why, thank you! I do love me some drizzle on cake.
Triple yummy!!! Love the drizzle!
Thanks! I like to think the drizzle is more Donna Hay-esque than the laziness it really is 😉
Wow, this looks absolutely delicious! I’m a chocolate fiend and will definitely have to try this recipe!
This certainly has that choc hit we all need 🙂
This cake just ticks all the boxes, looks totally lush and I want some now!
It is rather delish! Thanks for popping by x
Mouth watering.. This goes in my Oven today.. 🙂
Thanks – you’ll love it!
Bookmarking this, too!! I love dark chocolate! 🙂
Yay! This is super simple but sooo yummy 🙂
I’ve been looking for a chocolate loaf cake. This one sounds wonderful! I like that it has real chocolate in it, too. The glaze would send it over the top! Thank you!
So happy to be of service Shari! Hope you love this as much as (AZ) I do 🙂