For my final cake in my mini chocolate challenge I have decided to fall back on a favourite cookbook of mine. Cake Days by the Hummingbird bakery, I decided to do another loaf cake. I wanted the chocolate to be the main aspect and not buttercream or sprinkles. Don’t worry they will be coming back soon. So this time it is chocolate and coffee loaf, I am a total coffee addict. I drink and eat it as often as I can and coffee and chocolate are well known bedfellows, coffee can really enhance chocolate flavour. Its almost like it deepens it somehow, making it darker and richer.















One thing I have learnt through my little chocolate experiment is that dark chocolate is definitely my favourite type to bake with. I enjoy milk and white chocolate to eat but dark chocolate is the one for me when baking.















So lets talk a little more about this cake, its rich, dark and moist. Each slice is perfect without anything to accompany it, I don’t feel it needs buttercream, but if you wanted dress it up for a more fancy dessert you could glaze it with a chocolate ganache topping or drizzle melted chocolate over the top. But for me the dense crumb was rich enough by itself.















Cookbook favourite.

I knew I would have a cake success with this cookbook, we all have our favourites and I knew the hummingbird bakery wouldn’t let me down. I’m still cautious when baking with chocolate, I am not 100% confident yet with the flavour combinations and the amount to add to cakes but I am definitely gaining ground. I am pleased with what I have achieved during my mini chocolate-a-thon, a deeper appreciation of it as a dessert. I will definitely not turn my nose up at it as a dessert anymore, fruity desserts will always be my number one choice but I shall definitely let chocolate get a look in now and again.















The flavour combinations with chocolate almost seem endless; during my chocolate themed research I found that people use it in savoury dishes as well, one day I shall be brave enough to give one of them a go. But this time I stayed in safer territory and stayed with sweet treats. I love cake, I think that much is obvious and I love my cookbooks hence why I used a recipe from one of them this time.















Everyone who tried it loved it and it didn’t last long in my house but should you want to make it last a little longer or bake it a day or two in advance that will be fine. This cake will keep up to 5 days in an airtight tin. Good luck with keeping it that long! Its rich dark colour is just so inviting and so hard to resist.















Recipe: