Dark Chocolate Cherry Loaf Cake Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x4-inch loaf pan with 1 teaspoon butter and reserve.
• Whisk flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together in a bowl.
• Cream 1/2 cup butter and sugar together in another bowl with a spatula or an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Beat in eggs one at a time with a whisk or an electric mixer, fully blending in the first egg before adding the next. Stir in yogurt and vanilla extract.
• Chop pitted cherries coarsely with a knife, or by pulsing on and off a few times in a food processor. Add to the wet ingredients along with the chocolate chunks and chopped walnuts. Stir briefly to combine. Batter may look curdled, but don't worry.
• Pour in the flour mixture and mix with a spatula until all the flour has disappeared. Transfer batter into the prepared loaf pan, making sure to smooth the top evenly and fill in the corners. Tap pan on the counter to release any air pockets.
• Bake in the preheated oven until nicely browned and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let bread rest in the pan for 15 minutes before removing to a wire rack.
• While bread is resting, combine powdered sugar and milk in a bowl for icing, adding more milk as needed to reach a thin, runny consistency.
• Brush icing over loaf, allowing to drip down the sides. Let cool completely before slicing and serving, about 20 minutes more.

Steps:

• Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly mist a 13- by 9-inch baking pan with vegetable oil spray. Set the pan aside.
• Place the cake mix, cherry pie filling, eggs, and almond extract in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping the sides down again if needed. The batter should look thick and well blended. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with the rubber spatula. Place the pan in the oven.
• Bake the cake until it springs back when lightly pressed with your finger and just starts to pull away from the sides of the pan, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack while you prepare the glaze.
• For the glaze, place the sugar, butter, and milk in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil. Boil, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the chocolate chips. When the chips have melted and the glaze is smooth, pour it over the warm cake so it covers the entire surface. The glaze will be thin but will firm up. Cool the cake for 20 minutes before cutting into squares and serving.
• Store this cake, covered in aluminum foil, at room temperature for up to 5 days or in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Or freeze the cake, wrapped in foil, for up to 6months. Thaw the cake overnight on the counter before serving.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Line a 1kg loaf tin with baking parchment, making sure the paper comes up higher than the sides. Beat the butter and sugar together until fluffy, then add the eggs, a little at a time, along with the vanilla. Fold in the flour until you have a smooth mixture.
• Dust the cherries in a little flour, then carefully stir half of the fruit and chocolate into the mixture. Spoon into the prepared tin, then scatter the remaining cherries and chocolate on top, pressing them in lightly. Bake for 1 hr 10 mins - 1 hr 15 mins until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Make sure you don't mistake melted chocolate for raw cake mix. Leave to cool in the tin for a few mins, then turn out on to a wire rack and leave to cool completely. This can now be wrapped tightly in cling film and stored in the fridge for up to 3 days.
• Remove the marscapone from the fridge to come to room temperature. Melt the white chocolate in a bowl over a pan of hot water. Quickly stir in 1 tbsp of the marscapone, then beat in the rest (be careful not to overbeat the mixture or it will go grainy). Spread over the top of the loaf and finish with white chocolate curls or fresh cherries.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Butter a 900g loaf tin and line with baking parchment. Beat the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy, then beat in the eggs one at a time, followed by the vanilla and almond extract (if using).
• Toss the cherries with 2 tbsp of the flour in a bowl. Tip the rest of the flour, the ground almonds, baking powder and a pinch of salt into the bowl with the sugar and eggs, and mix until just combined. Fold in the cherries and any remaining flour in the bowl. Spoon into the prepared tin and smooth over the top.
• Bake for 50-55 mins, or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Leave to cool for 10 mins in the tin, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Serve as it is, or mix the icing sugar with the extract and enough milk to make a thick but pourable consistency. Drizzle over the loaf cake, and scatter over the flaked almonds to serve.

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3. Butter and line a 900g loaf tin with baking parchment. Toss the cherries in 1 tbsp of the flour, then set aside.
• Put the butter and sugar in a large bowl, and whisk until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well between each addition. Fold in the remaining flour, the baking powder and ground almonds. Stir in the milk, the vanilla and almond extracts, and 100g of the chocolate with a spatula. Scrape half the cake mixture into the tin, scatter half the cherries over the top, then add the remaining cake mixture and the remaining cherries. Bake for 1 hr 10 mins or until a skewer comes out clean.
• Cool in the tin for 10 mins, then remove and place on a wire rack to cool completely. Melt the remaining chocolate in the microwave in 20-sec bursts, then drizzle or pipe over the top of the cake and scatter with the almonds. Wait for the chocolate to set a bit before slicing. Will keep in the cake tin for up to three days.