Baking

Waitrose's Chocolate, Olive Oil and Marmalade Loaf Cake recipe

Name: Waitrose's Chocolate, Olive Oil and Marmalade Loaf Cake
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 10 min
Yield: 12
Ingredients: 160ml olive oil (plus more to grease the tin); 50g cocoa powder; 140ml freshly boiled water; 1 tsp vanilla extract; 150g golden caster sugar; zest from 1 orange; 3 large eggs; 75g self-raising flour; 100g ground almonds; ½ tsp fine sea salt; ½ tsp baking powder; 150g marmalade (thick or fine cut); chocolate shavings (optional, to decorate); crème fraîche (optional, to serve); a 900g/2lb loaf tin

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A simple yet brilliant loaf cake made with ground almonds, olive oil, cocoa and marmalade. The chocolate orange combination is an absolute treat.

Prep25m
Cook45m
Total1h 10m

cake chocolate loaf-cake

Sliced chocolate, marmalade and olive oil loaf cake topped with chocolate shavings

The March issue of Waitrose Magazine is a corker and this Chocolate, Olive Oil and Marmalade Loaf is just one of many recipes I’ve tried and loved. I’m not going to say much else because the ingredients speak for themselves. What a glorious combination for a cake*.

★ ★ ★

*Someone pointed out that it’s basically a big Jaffa Cake, which I think is great.

Notes

The original recipe specifies 225g of sugar but I find that this makes the cake very sweet. I cut it down to 150g, which is just the right amount of sweet for me, especially when combined with marmalade. No one has complained so far.

If your marmalade is jelly-like and difficult to spread, put the loaf tin (with the marmalade in it) into the preheated oven for 1 minute to loosen it.

I use a 900g/2lb loaf tin and the loaf comes out slightly flat but I feel like there’s too much batter to fit into my 450g/1lb loaf tin.

The cake will keep for up to 48 hours in an airtight container and it freezes well (slice the cake before freezing).

Recipe credit

Georgina Hayden for Waitrose Magazine.

Recipe

Waitrose's Chocolate, Olive Oil and Marmalade Loaf Cake

Prep25m
Cook45m
Total1h 10m

Serves: 12

Ingredients

Chocolate marmalade cake

160ml olive oil (plus more to grease the tin)
50g cocoa powder
140ml freshly boiled water
1 tsp vanilla extract
150g golden caster sugar
zest from 1 orange
3 large eggs
75g self-raising flour
100g ground almonds
½ tsp fine sea salt
½ tsp baking powder
150g marmalade (thick or fine cut)
chocolate shavings (optional, to decorate)
crème fraîche (optional, to serve)

You will need

a 900g/2lb loaf tin

Method

Preheat your oven to 190°C (170°C fan). Generously grease a 900g/2lb loaf tin with olive oil and line the bottom with greaseproof paper. Fill and boil your kettle.
Sieve 50g of cocoa powder into a large bowl then whisk in 140ml of freshly boiled water until fairly smooth (a few lumps are fine). Add 160ml of olive oil and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract to the cocoa mixture and whisk (I use a handheld electric mixer).
Add 150g of golden caster sugar, the zest from 1 orange and 3 large eggs to the bowl. Whisk for 3 minutes until the mixture is light and combined.
In a smaller bowl, add 75g of self-raising flour, 100g of ground almonds, ½ teaspoon of fine sea salt and ½ teaspoon of baking powder, mixing well. Add the dry ingredients into the wet, folding them in gently until just combined.
Spoon 150g of marmalade into the prepared loaf tin, spreading it out evenly. Pour the batter on top of the marmalade then bake for 45-50 minutes, until a cake tester comes out mostly clean but with a little moisture (the cake needs 45 minutes in my oven).
Once the cake is ready, leave it in its tin for around 15 minutes then turn it out onto a cooling rack, scraping any residual marmalade back onto the cake (it's an upside-down cake where the marmalade sits on top). If decorating with chocolate shavings, wait until the cake is completely cool before adding them on top of the marmalade. Optionally serve with creme fraiche.