Name: Adam Liaw’s chocolate loaf with vanilla cream
Cook time: 1 h
Yield: 6-8
Cuisine: Modern Australian
Ingredients: 50g butter; 200g caster sugar; 75ml vegetable oil; 125ml milk; 1 egg; 150g (1 cup) plain flour; 50g (½ cup) Dutch-process cocoa powder,plus extra for dusting; 2 tsp baking powder; ½ tsp salt

Chocolate loaf with vanilla cream.William Meppem

easyTime:30 mins - 1 hourServes:6-8

One of the benefits of a little bake is that it won’t hang around for long. So instead of buttery icing,a good dollop of vanilla cream is a great accompaniment for a cake that’s only going to last a day or two.

Ingredients

50g butter
200g caster sugar
75ml vegetable oil
125ml milk
1 egg
150g (1 cup) plain flour
50g (½ cup) Dutch-process cocoa powder,plus extra for dusting
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt

Vanilla cream

300ml thickened cream
50g icing sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

Method

Step1
Heat your oven to 160C fan-forced(180C conventional). Grease and line a 1.2-litre loaf tin. Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment,cream the butter and sugar together for about 5 minutes. Add the vegetable oil,milk and egg and mix to combine.
Step2
Sift the flour,cocoa,baking powder and salt into a separate bowl. Add to the wet ingredients and mix on low speed until just combined. Add 80ml of boiling water and mix for about 30 seconds to combine.
Step3
Transfer to the loaf tin and bake for 30-35 minutes,until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool for a few minutes in the tin,then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.
Step4
For the vanilla cream,whip the cream,icing sugar and vanilla extract to soft peaks and transfer to a piping bag fitted with a large round nozzle. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Step5
To serve,pipe the cream very generously over the top of the loaf,dust with a little extra cocoa powder and serve with extra cream.