Tuesday 10 July 2012

Revisited Chocolate Orange Drizzle Loaf Cake

This loaf cake evokes fond memories of my dearest friend Jules who sadly passed away a few years ago. This was a recipe we all baked as one of our monthly group events at "Sweet and Simple Bakes", a baking blog Jules and I ran together. I sometimes like to bake her recipes as a way of remembering her and what a fantastic baker she was. This Chocolate Orange Drizzle Loaf Cake is certainly a testament to the amazing cakes Jules baked. The sponge is fluffy, light and very moist, with the chocolate and orange blending together perfectly! If you find the orange/chocolate combo irresistible, then this is a “must” bake!!



Chocolate Orange Drizzle Loaf Cake

Ingredients
For The cake
175g (6 oz) softened butter
175g (6 oz) caster (super fine) sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
Finely grated zest of 2 oranges
175g (6 oz) self-raising flour, sifted
2 tbsp milk

For The Orange Syrup
Juice of 1 orange
100g (4 oz) granulated sugar

For The Topping
50g (2 oz) dark chocolate or milk chocolate – your choice
Sprinkles of choice (optional)

You will need a 900g (2 lb) loaf tin – greased with a little butter and lined with greaseproof paper or non-stick baking paper.

Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan oven 160°C/350°F/Gas mark 4.

In a mixing bowl, add the butter and sugar and beat together until light and fluffy in appearance. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat well until fully incorporated. Add the orange zest, flour and milk and fold in gently with a spatula or large metal spoon. Turn into the prepared tin, smooth the top of the mixture and bake in the oven on middle shelf 35 -45 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin. When cool make little holes in the cake with a skewer, (this is important for pouring the syrup onto the cake to ensure the syrup soaks in fully.)

For The Orange Syrup
Put the orange juice and granulated sugar into a pan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil and boil for a couple of minutes. Pour over the top of the cake. When all the juice has soaked in, carefully remove the cake from the tin.

For The Topping
Melt the chocolate by placing a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of barely simmering water. Once the chocolate has melted, pour over the top of the cake. Either smooth the top over with a spatula or make a little pattern with the prongs of a fork. Add sprinkles if desired, leave chocolate to set before cutting into the cake.

8 comments:

Jacqueline Meldrum said...

I have made one of these before and it was lovely, although mine was called a Jaffa Drizzle Cake

Anonymous said...

I agree Maria, this cake is delicious. I remember making it for Sweet & Simple Bakes and thinking it was a keeper. I really do miss Jules, she was such a lovely lady. xx

The Caked Crusader said...

The sponge looks beautiful and I love your decoration too!

Helen said...

I miss Sweet & Simple Bakes and was so sad when I heard Jules had passed away. I remember making this cake and it was a real hit. Must make it again soon!

Gloria Baker said...

I love this cake Maria look amazing!:)

Kim said...

Gorgeous cake which is going straight on to my baking list. A great tribute and a lovely way to remember your friend.

Danielle said...

Fabulous cake - the sponge is phenomenal! This will now become a regular for me. Clearly your friend was a total star.

Maggie said...

I miss 'Rosie' and the fun comments we left on each others blogs. This loaf is one of my favourites too.