Black Forest Loaf Cake with Sour Cherries and Chocolate
A fluffy, bakery-display worthy loaf cake inspired by Black Forest flavours, with rich chocolate sponge and bright sour cherries in every slice. It is ideal for afternoon tea, gif…
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Servings: 10 | Prep: 25 min | Cook: 60 min | Total: 85 min
Tags: afternoon tea, baking, black forest, cake, celebration bake, chocolate
Ingredients
- 220.0 g plain flour (sifted)
- 35.0 g cocoa powder (unsweetened)
- 2.0 tsp baking powder
- 1.0 pinch fine salt
- 180.0 g unsalted butter (softened)
- 180.0 g caster sugar
- 3.0 eggs (room temperature)
- 1.0 tsp vanilla extract
- 120.0 ml whole milk (room temperature)
- 120.0 g dark chocolate (finely chopped)
- 200.0 g sour cherries (pitted, well drained if using jarred or frozen)
- 1.0 tbsp plain flour (for tossing the cherries)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170°C on a medium setting and line a 900 g loaf tin, then leave the prepared tin aside while you mix the batter.
- Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt together for 30 seconds until evenly combined and no cocoa lumps remain.
- Beat the softened butter and caster sugar on medium-high speed for 3 to 4 minutes until very pale, fluffy, and noticeably lighter in texture, scraping the bowl once halfway through.
- Add the eggs one at a time on medium speed, beating for about 20 seconds after each addition until fully incorporated, then mix in the vanilla; if the mixture looks slightly curdled, add a spoonful of the dry mixture and continue beating until smooth.
- Fold in half of the dry ingredients on low speed, then pour in the milk and mix briefly, and finally add the remaining dry ingredients and fold gently just until no dry streaks remain; season the batter stage with a tiny extra pinch of salt only if your butter was unsalted and you prefer a deeper chocolate flavour.
- Toss the sour cherries with the extra flour until lightly coated, then fold the cherries and chopped dark chocolate through the batter with gentle strokes for about 20 seconds, stopping as soon as they are evenly distributed.
- Spoon the batter into the loaf tin, level the top, and bake at 170°C for 55 to 60 minutes until the loaf has risen well, the top is domed and lightly cracked, and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out with a few moist crumbs but no wet batter.
- Cool the cake in the tin for 15 minutes until the sides feel set and the surface no longer looks fragile, then turn it out and leave it to cool completely until no warmth remains.
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