I forget how I came across this chocolate cake-themed blog post on Velvet Lava, which reviews a Nigella Lawson recipe for Quadruple Chocolate Loaf Cake. Velvet Lava renames the cake The Hot Mess, which I prefer. I’m not a huge baker, but I’ve made it three or four times now. It’s just so easy to make: you just blend up the batter in a food processor and bake it in a loaf pan. It’s not particularly elegant; as Velvet Lava writes:
I think it’s the ugliest fekkin’ cake I ever made. It’s a heinous slab.
But that’s just so Nigella. It’s a glorious loaf of delicious, messy, chocolateness. It ain’t pretty, it isn’t graceful to eat, it’s not easy to serve right away – it’s just one HOT MESS. Remind you of anyone?
‘Heinous slab’ is a little extreme. I think this loaf cake is kind of pretty, in a rustic sort of way. But whatever you think it looks like, it’s sooo good.
My only modifications to this recipe are a longer baking time (it’s usually still gooey in the middle even after an hour) and the omission of the final chocolate syrup step. I don’t like things to get too soggy. Plus, when I pull this cake out of the oven, I just want to cut myself a slice as soon as possible.
That looks lovely! I’m a big fan of her original chocolate loaf cake from How To Be a Domestic Goddess, and this looks like a great update.
Re: the gooiness problem – does the original recipe specify if you use bleached or unbleached all purpose flour? I think one time I made the loaf cake with the wrong kind of flour (unbleached, when it should have been bleached) and I had the same problem – it took forever to cook through.
It just says to use all-purpose flour, I don’t think it specifies bleached versus unbleached. But I was using unbleached, so perhaps that’s part of the problem.
Hi, I wanted to pass on some information about the Quadruple Chocolate Cake from Nigella Lawson. I have made this cake dozens of times. Mine has a crack down the center much as a pound cake might. I chill the cake before I slice it. I slice it much as you would a pound cake and normally top it with a scoop of ice cream and sometimes fruit. I don’t think it’s ugly at all. One very nice thing about this cake is that it will last a week so it’s a perfect make ahead cake for a casual dinner party. I think your friend was treating it as a stand alone dessert. It really isn’t anymore than a pound cake would be served all alone.
Terry (in Potomac, MD)
[...] Market from 9 am to 1 pm. Several of us will be bringing goodies (I’ll probably make more chocolate loaf cake!), with all proceeds benefitting Martha’s [...]
I tried this using a cake tin with a lid but with holes in so it could breath. When done it comes out as a near perfect rectangle, and is easier to cut.