Want a chocolate cherry loaf cake, where all the chocolate chips and juicy cherries don’t just sink straight to the bottom? Well, go on then, if you insist.
This isn’t the first loaf cake I’ve shared with you, and it 100% won’t be the last. There’s something incredibly simple about mixing up some batter, chucking it in a tin, and knowing that in a couple of hours, you are going to be tucking into a (probably still warm if you’re as impatient as me) slice of cake, without having to worry about frosting.
Don’t get me wrong – there is a time and a place for frosting. There are days when I want to spend hours in the kitchen perfecting a gorgeous layer cake, or icing dozens of cupcakes and covering them in sprinkles.
But then there are the other days, when I genuinely just want some yummy cake after a long day at work, and I just want it to be easy. If you empathise with me at all here, then this is the cake for you!
My favourite thing about this cake is the batter. You’re only going to be needing one bowl to make it (of course), and it’s a little bit thicker than usual layer cake batter, so you know the cherries and chips won’t end up right at the bottom of the tin. You don’t even need to flour them.
I’ve adapted this batter from last year’s almond raspberry drizzle cake, so you know it’s got a great pedigree. And yeah, I’ve snuck a little bit of almond extract into the recipe below, but what you gonna do. I’ve got an almond and cherry addiction. It’s almost as bad as my cherry and chocolate one.
Fresh cherries are perfect for this recipe, but in a pinch you could sub in some glace cherries instead. A little less wholesome, but just as tasty. Plus, less time getting those pesky stones out.
- 175g (¾ cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 200g (1 cup) caster sugar (US granulated sugar)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 250g (2 cups) plain or all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoons salt
- 200g (about 1½ cups) fresh cherries, quartered
- 150g dark chocolate chips
- Preheat the oven to 180°C / 355°F (160ºC fan), and grease and line the bottom of a 2lb loaf tin.
- Beat the room temperature butter with the sugar using a stand or hand mixer, until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla extract, and almond extract, and beat well until all mixed together. Scrape down the sides to make sure everything has been well combined.
- Add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Gently mix on a low speed until just combined - don't overmix! Add the quartered cherries and chocolate chips, and fold together until evenly distributed. The batter will be very thick, but that's okay. This will help the cherries not to sink to the bottom.
- Spoon the batter into the lined loaf tin, and smooth out using a knife or the back of a spoon. Place the loaf tin in the oven for 50 minutes, or until a skewer or toothpick inserted into the cake comes out without crumbs on it. Leave to cool in the tin on a wire rack.
- This loaf cake will keep for 3-4 days if stored in an airtight container in a cool place. The cake can be frozen for up to 3 months.
This loaf cake was super great – is it quite as fabulous as the almond raspberry cake though? I just don’t know! I feel like it wasn’t quite as moist, I wonder if this got cooked for five minutes too long? But then the fact that it was quite… structurally strong..? was why it toasted so great, and a slice of this spread with butter or jam was amazing. Perfect Saturday breakfast.
I guess it’s a loaf cake after all, so it’s supposed to be treated like a bread!
I seriously was amazed by how the chips and the cherries stayed throughout the loaf :O