Chocolate Nut Loaf

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I had planned to make strawberry shortcake this weekend, but the berries available in the markets were so sour that I had to quickly devise and execute an off-the-cuff "Plan B". That plan involved using this chocolate nut loaf as the base for a death by chocolate-type sundae that I knew everyone would enjoy. The recipe for the loaf cakes came from a dogeared copy of an old Farm Journal cookbook, so you'll find it is straight forward and should have no trouble following it. My only caution regards baking time. Unless you are vigilant about testing for doneness, you may end up with a damp streak in your cakes. In this batch, I had one cake that baked perfectly, while the other streaked on me. The lesson? Religiously test both cakes. It's a right-side left-side thing and my oven obviously does better on one side than it does on the other. It probably is a good idea to swap positions of the cakes at the 30 minute mark to help insure even cooking. I hope you'll keep this simple recipe in the back of your mind. The cake is wonderful when it is served warm with a dollop of cream or a scoop of good ice cream and I think you'll really enjoy it. Here is how the loaves are made.Enjoy!


Chocolate Nut Loaf...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite inspired by Farm Journal
Ingredients:
1 cup butter
2 cups granulated sugar
5 eggs, well beaten
2 squares unsweetened chocolate, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
2-1/2 cups sifted cake flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease 2 (9 x 5-inch) loaf pans. Line bottom of pans with parchment paper. Grease parchment paper. Set aside.
2) Cream butter well, adding sugar gradually. Beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs and melted chocolate. Blend well. Add vanilla.
3) Add sifted dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk. Fold in nuts.
5) Pour batter into prepare pans. Bake for 1 hour. Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Turn cakes onto wireracks and cool to room temperature. Yield: 2 loaves or 16 servings.

                    

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