Dressy Chocolate Loafcake

This week’s Tuesdays with Dorie recipe was selected by Amy of Amy Ruth Bakes. She decided on the Dressy Chocolate Loafcake for her selection. You can get the complete recipe on Amy’s blog. This is a cake that I think is well suited for lots of different variations, so you may want to check out the versions that all the Tuesdays with Dorie bakers made.

I hadn’t read this recipe all the way through until I was just about to make it, and I was instantly excited to make it since it sounded so good. Dorie calls it a cake that looks like you fussed over, but in actuality is very simple. I agree, this cake was pretty easy to make! You make a chocolate loaf cake, slice it in thirds, spread with preserves (raspberry in my case) and then top with a simple frosting. For me, the hardest part was slicing the cake evenly in thirds. Some of my cuts were a little crooked, but you couldn’t tell when the cake was reassembled and frosted.

I was also unsure of the frosting, as this was one of the most unusual frostings I have ever made. You just melt chocolate and stir in sour cream. That’s it. I was completely baffled as to how this would come together as frosting, but it worked. The cake itself has a great chocolate flavor and the bites with the raspberry jam are wonderful. I think I baked mine a minute or two too long, so the corners are a bit dry. That’s my only complaint, and that’s my own fault. I think I would like to try this cake and fill it with orange preserves for an orange/chocolate concoction. Or, I think I would like to try and fill the layers with Nutella and then use gianduja (chocolate with hazelnut paste) for the frosting. Yum!

Recipe from Baking from My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan, pages 286 and 287