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My Dad is a great chef. He, like me, enjoys baking cakes, and he’s been tweaking recipes since long before I started. A couple of months ago, he had a lovely slice of chocolate cake at the nursing home where Mum lives. He then emailed to ask if I had a recipe I could recommend. Communication is a funny thing; particularly the non-verbal type. He didn’t specify what type of choc chip cake, so I sent him a link to this one. No, not good enough! What he wanted was a chocolate choc chip cake!

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After a bit of research on my part, I discovered a double chocolate chip cake recipe and sent him that link, too. He has now made it several times, and loved it. There was only one problem. The batter was too thin, and the chocolate chips sank to the bottom. He confided to me that he was certain someone had written the recipe and hadn’t actually tried it! So he took matters into his own hands and adjusted the recipe. He removed the milk and added more flour. It’s now exactly how he wanted it.

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I asked for this fabulous recipe and then did some tweaking of my own. I replaced the wheat flour with gluten-free and added more choc chips. It’s brilliant! We love it. Thanks to my father, we now have a go-to chocolate loaf cake that works for any occasion. What I like most about this cake is that there are only crumbs left after sharing with friends and family. Most of all, I’m grateful for family and the chance to enjoy a shared love of baking with my dad. Happy Father’s Day, Dad! You’re the best!

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Dad’s Double Chocolate Chip Cake {gf}
I’ve also made this with ground hazelnuts (hazelnut meal) and it had a lovely, distinctive aroma, reminiscent of Ferrero Rocher chocolates.

Serves 8-10

Ingredients
1 cup (140g) plain (all-purpose) gluten-free (or regular) flour
¾ cup (85g) ground almonds (almond meal)
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ cup (30g) cocoa powder
½ cup (100g) chocolate chips or chunks
¾ cup (175g) softened butter
¾ cup (175g) caster sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
100mL (1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon) buttermilk*
4 x squares each white, dark and milk chocolate, for decorating

Method
Preheat oven to 160degC/320F. Grease and line a medium loaf tin (base measures 20.5cm x 10.5cm or 8 x 4-inches) with a long strip of baking paper, extending paper over the two long sides.

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and cocoa over almond meal in a large mixing bowl. Stir in chocolate chips or chunks. In a separate bowl, beat the butter and sugar with an electric beater until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Finally, fold in flour mixture alternately with buttermilk and vanilla extract. Mix until no flour streaks are visible, then scrape into prepared tin. Bake for 50-55 mins or until firm and springs back when touched (no point using a skewer for this one, as it will hit melted chocolate and you won’t be able to tell if the cake is cooked). Mine needed a foil tent over it for the last 5 minutes.

Cool in the tin, then lift out onto a wire rack over some baking paper. Melt the extra chocolate chunks separately in pans over barely simmering water, or in bowls in the microwave, then use a fork to drizzle each in turn over the cake. To do this, dip the fork into melted chocolate, and let the first clumpy drip land in the bowl. Drizzle chocolate over the edges and top of the cake. Repeat with remaining chocolate.

For a more controlled drizzle or piping, place melted chocolate in a snap-lock bag and snip off a tiny piece of one corner so you can use it as a pastry bag.

Leave to set before slicing.

Note. *Make your own buttermilk by adding 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar to 1 cup of milk. Allow to sit for 5-10 minutes before using.

Adapted from BBC Good Food

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