Chocolate Raspberry Loaf
≈ 10 servings
Adapted from (original recipe, adapted from classic chocolate loaf technique)
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
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup 120 ml hot water or hot brewed coffee
- 1 1/2 cup 190 g fresh raspberries
- 1/2 cup 85 g semisweet chocolate, chopped (or chips)
- 1/3 cup 80 ml heavy cream
Method
- Set the oven to 175°C (350°F). Grease the loaf pan and dust it with flour, or line it with parchment paper, leaving some overhang on the long sides as handles for lifting the loaf out later.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Scoop out about 1 tbsp into a small bowl and reserve it for tossing the raspberries.
- Toss the raspberries with the reserved flour mixture — this keeps them from sinking to the bottom of the loaf. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together until smooth and slightly frothy, about 1–2 minutes of whisking.
- Whisk in the oil, then the sour cream, then the vanilla extract, until the mixture is uniform.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients. Fold with a spatula until mostly combined, then stream in the hot water (or coffee) and stir until smooth. The batter will be noticeably thin — that's normal for a moist chocolate loaf.
- Gently fold in the floured raspberries with just a few strokes, being careful not to crush them.
- 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, 45–55 minutes total — start checking at 45 minutes, since a full 60 runs the loaf a little dry.
- 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.
- 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. Let it cool a few minutes until thick enough to hold its shape when drizzled, then spoon over the cooled loaf.
Notes
- This uses the same whisk-only, no-mixer technique as the rhubarb-strawberry loaf — just eggs and sugar whisked until frothy, then the rest of the wet ingredients stirred in.
- If using frozen raspberries, don't thaw them first — toss them frozen with the reserved flour and fold in directly, and add about 5 extra minutes to the bake time.
- Coffee deepens the chocolate flavor without tasting like coffee itself — plain hot water works fine too.
- Bake time reflects one test bake — worth fine-tuning further if it still runs a bit dry or underdone for your oven.
- Store covered at room temperature 2–3 days, or in the fridge up to a week; the un-ganached loaf freezes well.