Chocolate and cardamom loaf cake

Name: Chocolate and cardamom loaf cake
Ingredients: 5 eggs; 3 tablespoons sugar; 1 teaspoon ground cardamom (about 7 pods); 2 pinches fine salt; 6-7 tablespoons flour; 50 ml oil; 1 packet baking powder (10 g); 200 g chocolate with 70% cocoa; 50 ml milk

Dessert - Chocolate and cardamom loaf cake by Semenica G. - Recipia

Ground cardamom comes through in this chocolate and cardamom loaf cake, baked in two layers with a dark stripe in the middle. I go for chocolate with 70% cocoa and make sure it isn't too sweet; its bitterness comes through alongside the cardamom, while the yellow layer has a milder aroma and the crumb cuts into neat slices. Prep: 20 minutes. Cook: 34 minutes. Total time: 54 minutes. Servings: 8. Approximately 300 kcal and 7 g protein per serving.

Ingredients

5 eggs
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon ground cardamom (about 7 pods)
2 pinches fine salt
6-7 tablespoons flour
50 ml oil
1 packet baking powder (10 g)
200 g chocolate with 70% cocoa
50 ml milk

Preparation

1. Line a loaf tin, about 25 × 11 cm, with baking paper and preheat the oven to 180°C. 2. Separate the eggs, putting the yolks in a bowl and the whites in a tall container. 3. Break the chocolate into small pieces and put it in a pan over low heat with 50 ml milk and a pinch of salt. Stir for 4 minutes without letting it boil. Take the pan off the heat when the chocolate is almost melted and stir until smooth, then leave it to cool. 4. Crush the cardamom seeds and mix them with the yolks. Beat the egg whites to stiff peaks with the sugar and a pinch of salt. 5. Add the yolks, flour, oil and baking powder to the egg whites and mix until combined. 6. Divide the mixture into two equal parts. Fold the cooled chocolate into one of them. 7. Pour the chocolate mixture into the tin first, then the yellow one. Bake for 30 minutes at 180°C, until a skewer comes out clean. Let the loaf cake cool before slicing.

Notes

Covered, the loaf cake keeps for two days at room temperature; in the fridge, it will keep for up to three days, wrapped so it doesn't dry out. It goes well with coffee or black tea, with nothing else added. Crushed seeds have a more pronounced aroma than powder that's been stored for a long time; if you only have powder, measure it with a teaspoon rather than by eye. With chocolate below 70% cocoa, the flavour will be sweeter; a more bitter one keeps the sugar's sweetness in check. The flour contains gluten, and the eggs and milk are also allergens in this loaf cake. A tin about 25 × 11 cm makes a tall loaf; in a wider tin, the layer will be thinner and may bake faster. I recently got some spices I hadn't tried before, looked up how to use them and paid attention to how much they came through in the dish; with cardamom, I stop when its aroma is noticeable without covering the chocolate. Cooling the chocolate is the part many people rush; leave the pan aside until the chocolate is no longer hot to the touch.