Loaf cake is a great go-to recipe to have on hand when you want something simple yet delicious. This Chocolate Orange Loaf Cake is a great melding of rich dark chocolate with a touch of sweet orange. The cake bakes up moist and so delicious that it needs no glaze or frosting. A light dusting of powdered sugar is the only embellishment needed when serving this tasty loaf.
The original recipe is a straight up chocolate cake but I decided to mix it up a little and added some fresh orange zest and orange extract to the batter. While the cake was cooling I brushed the top with a few tablespoons of Grand Marnier Orange Liqueur. This gives a little extra orange flavor while helping to keep the cake moist. Here is how you can make your own.
You can find the basic recipe here. Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 8 1/2″ x 4 1/2″ loaf pan with Pam for Baking and set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat together the butter, sugar, salt, baking powder, espresso powder, cocoa, vanilla extract.
For a Chocolate Orange Loaf Cake add 2 teaspoons of orange extract and the zest of one orange. Beat until combined.
Add the eggs one at a time and beat until well combined. Add half the flour and beat until combined.
Add all the milk and beat until combined. Add remaining flour and beat until batter is just combined and smooth. Do not over beat batter.
Pour batter into prepared pan. I topped my batter with some sparkling vanilla sugar crystals for a little extra crunch.
Bake cake for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove cake from oven and run an offset spatula or knife around edges to loosen.
Let cool for 10 minutes then turn cake out of pan onto a wire rack to cool completely. I brushed the top of my warm cake with around 2-3 tablespoons of Grand Marnier Orange Liqueur.
Store completely cooled cake in an airtight container at room temperature. Just before serving lightly dust the top of cake with powdered sugar.
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