Chocolate and Orange Zebra Loaf Cake

There is nothing better than a cake that isn’t only delicious and easy to make, but also looks fun! And this Chocolate and Orange Zebra Loaf Cake delivers on all of those points! Light and dark batter is alternately spooned into the loaf tin to create a spectacular looking zebra pattern that will leave an impression with any guest coming for an afternoon cup of tea and cake! If you are not a fan of chocolate-orange, simply omit the orange juice and zest in the recipe and keep it chocolate and vanilla flavoured!

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Chocolate and Orange Zebra Loaf Cake

Recipe

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE

• 3 tbsp cocoa powder
• 6 tbsp boiling water
• 300g plain flour
• 4 tsp baking powder
• 200g caster sugar
• 4L eggs
• 200ml sunflower oil
• 100ml lukewarm water
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 pinch of salt
• Zest of 1 orange, juice of half (optional, you can just leave this out if you don’t like the chocolate-orange-combo)

FOR THE CHOCOLATE GLAZE

• 150g dark chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 tsp coconut oil

YOU WILL ALSO NEED

• 23x13cm loaf tin (I used the one I received in my Bake Off Box)

Method

1. Lightly grease and line a 23x13cm (roughly, pick any loaf tin you have of similar size) with baking paper. Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan.
2. In a small bowl, mix the cocoa powder and boiling water to make a thick chocolate paste. Set aside to cool until needed.
3. Weigh all other ingredients apart from the orange into a large mixing bowl, and beat using an electric free-standing or hand whisk until fully combined. Evenly divide the mixture between two bowls, then mix the orange juice and zest into one, and the cooled chocolate paste into the other to create a light and dark batter.
4. To create the “zebra effect”, spoon one large spoonful of light batter into the middle of the prepared loaf tin, then add one large spoonful of dark batter into the centre of the light batter. Continue to do this, alternating between light and dark batter, until all the cake batter is used up.
5. Bake the cake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, then quickly open the oven and use a knife to score the cake lengthways, about 1-2cm deep. This will help the cake to rise evenly and create the characteristic two-humped look of a loaf cake when cut. Bake the cake for a further 45-50 minutes, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
6. Leave the cake to cool completely before carefully removing from the tin.
7. To decorate, chop the dark chocolate into small pieces and melt together with the coconut oil in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water (bain-marie). Once melted, spoon the chocolate over the cooled cake and use a palette knife to distribute in an even layer to cover the top and sides of the cake. Leave to set completely before cutting into slices to serve.