Recipe Book Grocery List

Chocolate Orange Loaf

Bread 90 min 🧪 Experimental — untested

≈ 10 servings

Adapted from (original recipe, not yet kitchen-tested)

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 cup 190 g all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup 45 g unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3/4 cup 150 g granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup 50 g brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup 120 ml neutral oil (canola or sunflower)
  • 1/3 cup 80 g sour cream or plain yogurt
  • 2 tbsp 30 ml orange zest (from about 2 oranges)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup 120 ml fresh orange juice
  • 1 tbsp 15 ml orange liqueur, such as Grand Marnier or Cointreau (optional)
  • 1/2 cup 85 g semisweet chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup 85 g semisweet chocolate, chopped (or chips), for the ganache
  • 1/3 cup 80 ml heavy cream
  • 1 tsp orange zest, for the ganache

Method

  1. Set the oven to 175°C (350°F). Grease the loaf pan and dust it with flour, or line it with parchment paper.
  2. Whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Scoop out about 1 tsp into a small bowl and reserve it for tossing the chocolate chips.
  3. Toss the chocolate chips with the reserved flour mixture — this helps keep them suspended through the batter instead of all sinking to the bottom.
  4. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together until smooth and slightly frothy, about 1–2 minutes of whisking.
  5. Whisk in the oil, sour cream, orange zest, vanilla extract, and orange liqueur (if using) until the mixture is uniform.
  6. Add the dry ingredients and fold with a spatula until mostly combined, then stream in the orange juice and stir until smooth. The batter will be noticeably thin — that's normal.
  7. Gently fold in the floured chocolate chips.
  8. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs — start checking at 45 minutes.
  9. Let the loaf cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely before glazing with ganache — a warm loaf will just melt it right off.
  10. Heat the heavy cream in a small saucepan (or microwave) until just simmering. Pour over the chopped chocolate in a heatproof bowl, let sit 2 minutes, then whisk until smooth and glossy. Stir in the orange zest. Let it cool a few minutes until thick enough to hold its shape when drizzled, then spoon over the cooled loaf.

Notes