Chocolate and Almond Loaf Cake

Just to let you know, this post was written before I started the paleo diet to help ease my psoriasis. Nowadays I eat a more allergy-friendly diet, but leave these older, non-paleo posts up in case they are useful to readers, as I know not everyone eats the same as I do. Thanks for your understanding. 

I made this for my neighbour on Christmas Eve and it's a cake that I often make to slice up and plonk into lunchboxes or nibble with a cup of tea. It's one of my favourites, because it's really easy and I usually have everything I need to make it in the cupboards. For my neighbour, I 'iced' it with melted white and dark chocolate but I usually make it as it is here: plain, moist and chocolatey. I use a silicone loaf 'tin', because it makes removing it so easy.

Chocolate and Almond Cake
Cuts into around 10 slices
Ingredients

• 175g unsalted butter, softened
• 130 soft brown sugar
• 40g caster sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 tsp baking powder
• approx. 130g plain flour
• 85g ground almonds
• 100ml milk (semi-skimmed or whole)
• 4 tbsp good quality cocoa powder (I use Bournville, or Green and Black's)
• half a teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

1. Preheat oven to 160C. In a bowl, mix the soft butter and the sugars until they are creamy and fluffy. Beat in the eggs.
2. On the scales, tip in your 2 tsp baking powder and then add plain flour untlil it gets to the 140g mark. Stir this into the eggy mixture, along with the ground almonds, cocoa powder and milk.
3. Tip into your prepared loaf tin (mine measures 19cm x 8cm on the base) and bake for about 45 minutes, or until a skewer or cake tester comes out clean.
4. Leave to cool in the tin. Remove, slice into chunks and enjoy.