Old-Fashioned Chocolate Loaf Cake

Old-Fashioned Chocolate Loaf Cake 

Source: Maida Heatter's Book of Great Chocolate Desserts (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 2006 ed.), pg. 94.

I spent part of this blustery, snow-showered Sunday baking this for my neighbor who has a birthday tomorrow. This is very similar to a pound cake and is very fine grained. Like most loaf cakes I have tried, it is easy to make and there is nothing unusual about it.

About the baking time - Maida says that it is very long - about 1 hour and 40 minutes. Knowing about her baking times in advance, I questioned this and started checking the cake after one hour. Sure enough, it was done in about 1 hour and 10 minutes. The cake will crack along the top (she says that is expected) so don't be alarmed by that. The cake slices beautifully (not crumbly at all) and tastes wonderful. It is great with milk, tea or coffee.

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 oz. unsweetened chocolate

4 oz. semi-sweet chocolate

8 oz. unsalted butter

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 1/4 cup sugar

5 large eggs, separated

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Butter an 8-cup capacity loaf pan and dust with fine bread crumbs.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together and set aside.

Melt both chocolates together in a double boiler over barely simmering water. Set aside to cool slightly.

Cream the butter. Add the vanilla extract and then 1 cup of the sugar (reserving 1/4 cup). Mix thoroughly. Add the egg yolks one at at a time, mixing well. Add the melted chocolate and blend well. On low speed, gradually add the flour mixture, beating until well mixed (scraping the sides of the bowl to make sure it is all incorporated).

In a separate mixer bowl, whip the egg whites until they hold a soft peak. Continue to mix, adding the 1/4 cup of sugar, until a firm peaks are achieved.

Now fold the egg whites into the batter. The batter is very thick so this is a bit awkward at first. Use a wooden spoon to begin and add about 1/3 of the egg whites. When this portion is folded in, add another third and continue. The batter will begin to get lighter. You can use a plastic spatula to add the last of the egg whites. Fold in until the egg whites disappear.

Place the batter into the pan and smooth the top.

Bake until a cake tester comes out dry. Baking times depend on the size of the pan you are using. (The cake baked in 1 hour and 12 minutes for me). Let the cake cool for 15 minutes before carefully removing it. Place it on a cooling rack to cool thoroughly.

After completely cooled, wrap in plastic wrap and let it sit overnight before serving.

Apricot and Walnut Applesauce Cake

Apricot and Walnut Applesauce Cake 

Source: Maida Heatter's Best Dessert Book Ever (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1997 ed.), pg. 100.

I have been wanting to make an applesauce cake for some time now because I had a huge, unopened jar in the refrigerator. Applesauce is something I usually keep on hand because I often use it to replace oil in baking recipes. It is also good for snacking.

Maida has several applesauce cake recipes (I was very tempted by the Chocolate Applesauce Cake in her chocolate book and may try that one next). I chose this one because I had walnuts and apricots that I also needed to use.

This is a very simple cake to make. I love making loaf cakes! Be sure to use a large loaf pan. She recommended one that measures 10.5" x 4.5" x 3". The closest I had was 9" x 5" x 2" and it was fine. The cake is very moist and packed with crisp walnuts and apricots. The cloves give it a holiday-ish flavor and I think this would be a nice Christmas dessert but I would make this anytime.

Keep an eye on it while baking. As with many of her recipes, her baking time of 1 hr., 25-35 minutes would have been too much. Mine was done in 1 hr., 15 minutes.

6 oz. dried apricots

6 oz. (1 1/2 cups) chopped walnuts

2 cups sifted unbleached flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 1/4 baking powder

1 1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ground cloves

1/2 tsp. salt

4 oz. unsalted butter (softened)

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

2 cups unsweetened applesauce

Preheat oven to 350.

Butter a loaf pan with a 9-cup capacity. Dust with fine bread crumbs.

Cut the apricots into small pieces (about 1/4 inch wide).

Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves and salt.

Add 2 or 3 tablespoons of the flour mixture to the apricots and mix with your fingers. Add the walnuts and toss again to coat all the nuts and fruit.

Beat the butter until soft. Add the vanilla and sugar, beating until mixed. Beat in the eggs one at a time. On low speed, add 1/3 of the flour mixture. Add all of the applesauce and then the remaining flour mixture. Beat only until completely mixed. Stir in the apricot and walnut mixture.

Turn into the pan and smooth the top.

Bake 1 hour and 15 minutes or longer, until a tester comes out smooth. (Maida says 1 hour, 25-30 minutes but this would have been way too much in my oven)

Cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Remove carefully and let the cake completely cool before wrapping in plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight before slicing. The cake can be served at room temperature or cold.