Chocolate Orange Truffle Loaf

Fancy a cake that combines all our faves? Dark chocolate salted truffles, check. Tangy sweet orange, check. Loaf cake, check.

The lovely Ellie has made an impressive loaf cake, slathered it in chocolate, orange zest and our melty smooth dark chocolate truffles. Bake Off here we come. And by Bake Off, we mean 8 weeks thinking about cake, snacking and watching TV.

Serves 6 - 8, and recipe takes around 1 hour and 10.

1) Preheat your oven to 160C (fan). 

2) Line a 2lb loaf tin with greaseproof paper. The easiest way to do this is to scrunch your paper first - it will then mould to the shape of the tin more easily. 

3) Add all of the ingredients to a large bowl and mix with an electric hand whisk until combined, light and fluffy (about 1-2 minutes).

4) Pour the mixture into the lined tin, spreading it out evenly into all four corners. 

5) Place in the centre of the oven and bake for 40-50 minutes, until nicely golden and firm to touch. 

6) Whilst the cake is baking, make your orange drizzle. Add the juice and sugar to a small saucepan and simmer over a medium heat for about 10 minutes, until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and leave to one side.

7) Once the cake has finished baking, remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack for a few minutes. Drizzle over your orange syrup and leave to cool completely. 

8) To make the chocolate drizzle, melt the chocolate and stir in the maple syrup and oil. Drizzle the chocolate over the cake with a spoon or add the mixture to a piping bag for more control. 

9) Finally top with Doisy and Dam Chocolate Truffles and D&Ds (I used the orange ones) and enjoy! The cake will keep for at least 5 days when stored in a sealed tin/container.