Salty Caramel Drenched Double Chocolate Loaf Cake.
Do you know what it’s like to stand barefoot in your kitchen and eat freshly bubbling caramel sauce off of a spoon?
Neither do I. Because I wore socks.
But I do have taste buds so burnt that even a whole jalapeno couldn’t bring me to shed a tear.
Back in the day of purple silk shirts and paisley vests, after I’d spend 3 hours hopping over my Skip It in my glittery pink jelly shoes, my mom and I used to make this cake that we called turtle cake. Now that I’m an immature 28 year old, it has dawned on me that this cake is probably what some refer to as better-than-sex cake. Back then, the only thing that I assumed was better than sex was the new Lisa Frank folder I bought at Ames.
It was evident that I spent a little too much time eating this turtle cake – with the fluffy chocolate cloud that we poked holes in with the end of a wooden spoon, covering it in jarred caramel sauce that sunk into the cake crevices and topping it with a fluffy whipped cream and a sprinkling of crushed Heath bars – as my favorite rolled jean shorts began to fray and I’d start to resemble a cased sausage. The cake was best chilled, and long after I’d changed into my New Kids on the Block nightgown I’d find myself creeping towards the fridge, opening the door and plunging my fork into the cool, gooey treat.
Clearly times haven’t changed much.
Except I finally made my own caramel. It was easy. And creamy. And holy heavens was it hot. I used it to drench a chocolate cake that I’ve made before and devoured in a matter of hours. Not helpful to that whole cased sausage look.
Double Chocolate Loaf Cake
from Nigella’s chocolate loaf cake
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup cocoa
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 1/2 sticks soft unsalted butter
2 eggs
1 tablespoon good-quality vanilla extract
1/3 cup sour cream
1/2 cup boiling water
1 cup chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees, putting in a baking sheet as you do so.
Add the flour, baking soda, cocoa, sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla, and sour cream into the processor and blend until smooth. Scrape down the sides and process again while streaming in boiling water.. Remove lid and fold in chocolate chips.
Scrape and pour the batter into a buttered and floured loaf pan and put into the oven. Bake for 50-55 minutes. When ready, the loaf will be risen and split down the middle. Let cake cool, then poke holes throughout the top with a fork or knife. Press all the way down into the cake so the caramel sauce can sink in.
Salty Caramel Sauce
caramel from Ina Garten
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup water
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon sea salt, crushed until fine
Mix water and sugar in a saucepan and heat over low heat without stirring until sugar dissolves. Increase the heat to medium-high, allowing the mixture to come to a boil. This will take about 5-7 minutes, and you can occasionally swirl the pan to stir. Once a golden amber color, remove heat and add cream, vanilla and salt – it will bubble up. Turn heat back down to low and stir continuously until mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and let sit at room temperature for 2-4 hours where it will thicken.
Once cool, drizzle over chocolate cake, making sure to hit all of the poked holes so the caramel sinks down in. Serve with additional caramel.
It.is.good. Almost better than a Lisa Frank folder, if you know what I mean.
140 Comments on “Salty Caramel Drenched Double Chocolate Loaf Cake.”
Ah, nostalgia. Lisa Frank, jelly shoes… I may be a child of the ’90s, but I can relate to such girlhood whimsy. And my sweet tooth can certainly relate to this beauty of a cake/bread!!!
Awwww…I think you totally just re-lived my childhood. We’re the same age…pink jelly shoes (check)…New Kids on The Block nightgown (check)….obsessed with Lisa Frank (check)…silk shirt–had one in hot pink (check)….paisley vest–my mother made me one in fourth grade (check)…and my mom made that cake (check)…hee hee…better than sex cake.
I’m having a mega foodgasm looking at this. Oh boy. It’s a good one.
Hey Girl –
I made this last night! Absolutely DIVINE!!! Went the dark chocolate route and used greek yogurt vs sour cream… you must try! My caramel sauce on the other hand didn’t turn out – I believe I just got nervous and didn’t cook enough – still tasted amazing – just wasn’t “caramel” – so I added a chocolate ganache to it too!
Thanks again, definitely going in the MAKE AGAIN ASAP file :)
SO glad you liked it!
Oh my goodness! I completely forgot about Skip-its! I had a hot pink one and I definitely rocked the glittery jelly shoes. Don’t forget about pogs!
I just made a half recipe in mini-bundt pans for my daughter’s 17th birthday today. We love white chocolate chips and caramel in a bar cookie recipe that’s been an old favorite so I did half chocolate and half white chocolate chips in the cake batter. The cakes look adorable! Thanks :)
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Wow! This cake is amazing. I love salty caramel and will put it on any thing I bake:)Love Nigella’s chocolate cake…you make me hungry for a piece now!
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First time I made caramel sauce, I poured it warm out of the pan into a jar. Caramel slid down the outside of the pan. Can’t have that happening. So I licked the caramel off the side of the pan, and burned off half my tongue! oye, it hurt so much!
and this cake – thinking I need me some of that. mmmmm, yum!
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question: i’m making this in a few hours – one. do you leave the baking pan in the oven with the loaf pan on top? two. do you think it’s ok to make it in a mixer? my processor won’t work without the lid hooked on top. thanks!
Yep – set the loaf pan on top of the baking sheet. And I’m not positive about the mixer. It’s Nigella’s recipe and I’ve only ever made it in the food processor. I can’t imagine there would be much difference but I did have a reader email me that she used a mixer and her cake fell in the middle – however that could be a bunch of different things. Let me know if you do!
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Thanks for that! I tried it out before I left a comment. I baked it without the Chocolate chips and it turned out delicious. Kids ate it all in one serving!
Oh my word… I don’t even like baannas but ever since I was a kid O loved baanna bread. I discovered this year that my mom never wrote down the baanna bread recipe that I grew up loving so much – and seeing as she passed away in 2003 I guess there’s no retrieving it now :( I think I’ll give yours a whirl soon!