Yes, it’s
another cake recipe but this time more suitable for tea than dessert.
in quest of a simple uncomplicated cake recipe. I didn’t want a cream-laden
extravaganza of a gateau, just a nice, plain cake for tea – this time not for
guests, just TT and me.
what I found!
chocolate orange loaf cake cooling on the rack |
It’s a loaf
cake so no creamy filling or icing to think about: just two delicious flavours
chocolate and orange which as we all know complement each other beautifully.
herself says:
this is no decadent fancy, rather a slice-able slab of cocoa-rich serenity.
continues rather engagingly by saying:
mellow it comes through as warm spice – is that you feel you can snaffle a
slice mid-morning or mid-afternoon without feeling the slightest bit weighed
down, digestively or psychologically.
And snaffle we did! It delivered
what it promised and delicious it was too: easy to make, no hard-to-get
ingredients especially if you live outside Turkey – I’m referring to the golden
syrup and dark muscovado sugar here. How many years did I bring them back in my
suitcase from the UK when I was over? Now thank goodness, golden syrup is
actually here but the drama with the brown sugar lives on. I always bring back
an assortment of light and dark when I go. Or, you can do as friend Lesley does
here, mix some grape molasses/üzüm pekmezi with white granulated
sugar till you reach a suitable colour and consistency.
you take your eggs out of the fridge beforehand to get to room temperature, and
put the oven on to heat up. These little details make all the difference!
the recipe:
Loaf Cake
soft unsalted butter, plus some for greasing
flavourless vegetable oil, for greasing syrup spoon – I didn’t see this so
didn’t do it!
tbsps golden syrup
½ oz dark muscovado sugar OR white granulated sugar mixed with a little grape
molasses/üzüm pekmezi
plain flour
tsp bicarbonate of soda
best-quality cocoa powder, sifted
eggs
2 regular oranges and juice of 1
900g (2lb) loaf tin
Pre-heat oven to 170°C/gas mark 3 and line
your loaf tin with baking parchment or a paper loaf-tin liner.
Beat the already soft butter with the syrup –
if you dab a little oil on your tablespoon measure with a sheet of kitchen
roll, the syrup shouldn’t stick to the spoon – and the sugar until you have a
fairly smooth caffè Americano cream, though the sugar will always have a bit of
grit about it.
golden syrup: sweet and sticky |
Mix the flour, bicarb and cocoa powder
together, and beat into the syrup mixture 1 tbsp of these dry ingredients
before beating in 1 egg. Then add another couple of spoonfuls of the dry
ingredients before beating in the second egg.
all the dry ingredients in a bowl |
addding the egg |
Carry on beating in the remaining dry
ingredients and then add, still beating, the orange zest and finally,
gradually, the juice. At this stage, the batter may suddenly look dimpled as
if slightly curdled. No need to panic.
adding the orange zest |
Pour and scrape into the prepared tin and
bake for 45 minutes, though check 5 minutes before and be prepared to keep it
in the oven 5 minutes longer if need be. A cake tester won’t come out entirely
clean, as the point of this cake, light though it may be, is to have just a
hint of inner gunge.
Leave to cool a little in its tin on a wire
rack, then turn out with care and leave on the rack to cool.
cooling on the rack |
tightly in clingfilm and store in airtight container. Will keep for 5 days
total.
of clingfilm and a layer of foil, for up to 3 months. Defrost overnight at room
temperature.
an easy cake just right for teatime! |
not saying Afiyet olsun this time as it’s
Turkish!
sometimes simple is best. snaffle away!
Will do!!
Hi claudia,
Where can you get the golden syrup?
Jana, hi! Try any of the more upmarket supermarkets here in Istanbul. I don't think Migros has it but certainly Macro or Nezih (near where I live, Selami Çeşme on Cemil Topuzlu if you know it) has it. There is a great branch of Carrefour on Bağdat Cad. near us too and they have a special bit reserved for foreign items like this: try it!
Thanks. We are on our way to malatya this week and I think a chocolate orange cake might be just what we need after we come back, tired of eating meet! Will try to find that carrefour you mentioned.
Iyi bayramlar 🙂
This looks yummmy…especially with a bardak of cay. Love the flavours chocolate and orange, it reminds me of Terry's Chocolate 'the whack and unwrap' …ball of chocolate.
I know this was asked before but what is the 'golden syrup'?
Thanks again for your wonderful step-by-step pictures and sharing your recipe.
One more question? What is clingfilm?….. is that like Saran Wrap a plastic wrap?????
Hi Erica! I know, this discrepancy between British ingredients and American! Golden syrup is a kind of maple syrup: sticky, sweet and delicious! It doesn't exist per se here in Turkey. Sorry I didn't realise clingfilm was another British term! Yes – saran wrap is exactly what it is!!
I thought it didn't exist in Turkey the golden syrup because my sister in law always asks us to bring her some Maple Syrup or really she just loves Aunt Jemima's Pancake syrup that we have here.
Thanks for your explanations..I kind of figured out some but then thought it might not be what I was thinking.
I haven't seen Golden Syrup in Bodrum yet, but saw a recipe for making it somewhere – but where? I uses a lot of Nigella's recipes. There are always very straight forward and absolutely delicious. Can't bear to watch her TV programs though.
I am not a total Nigella fan, I must say. I find it hard to believe that she does all that cooking! But be that as it may, her recipes are all down to earth and eminently doable!
Shirley's favorite chocolates are without a doubt chocolate orange combinations so I am sure she would love this dessert so I will definitely try this and surprise her. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Michel! I've missed you! where have you been?? Glad you like this cake – hope Shirley does too!
hmmm yummy Claudia, would have loved a slice of that cake with my tea at the moment:!