Chocolate Lump Cake

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A moist and richly flavoured chocolate loaf cake, dotted with delectable, luscious lumps of chocolate hidden, like a delicious secret, throughout the sponge.

The soft, moist sponge is gorgeous as it is, but when you hit upon a little nugget of chocolate, it is like winning a little prize. The change in taste and texture brings a new dimension and interest to the cake. As a child, I can remember seeking out the lumps of chocolate and eating around them, saving them to last. The majority of chocolate chunks have a tendency to sit towards the bottom of the cake, so I would eat from the top down – a habit, I confess, I am still rather prone to today!

A regular on my cake stand, this loaf is great for picnics and lunch boxes and you could even serve it as dessert with some raspberries and ice cream. I always double the ingredients and make either 2 large cakes or 4 small loaves – they freeze exceptionally well and are a wonderful treat to have available at the drop of a hat.

My grandmother’s cake recipe

This recipe, from my maternal grandmother, must be around 70 years old – a cake which has most definitely stood the test of time! Mum can remember her mother making it after the Second World War when rationing finally relaxed, and I remember eating it with my grandmother, siblings and cousins, as a child. Like-wise my own children (adults now) have fond memories of eating it both at home and with my parents. I hope that one day, (not quite yet!) I will make it for my grandchildren.

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Gifting Cakes – ‘Go Ahead, Bake my Day’

I made a batch of these cakes yesterday to send to family as gifts. Although there is light at the end of the tunnel, we are still in COVID lockdown, and it seems there will be strict restrictions for a few more months. I sent these cakes as a little ‘pick me up’ for my elderly relatives and also to Emma, in Cornwall, who also loves to receive cakes through the post to share with her flatmates.

This is the first cake I ever posted, many years ago; an idea which occurred to me because of my grandmother. In the 1950s, she would post this cake to my Aunt, who was living away from home whilst serving in the Women’s Air Force. It is the ideal cake for posting – although moist and light, it is a sturdier cake than a normal sponge, plus it requires no frosting or icing.

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Packing up the cakes

A few things to remember:

• The first thing to remember when posting cakes, is to get them in the post when they are as fresh as possible. Either bake them first thing in the morning and post them in the afternoon, or if making them later in the day or on a Sunday, post first thing the next morning.
• Secondly, remember to wrap the cakes in cellophane, cling film or greaseproof paper, as soon as they have completely cooled down. This will help keep them as fresh as possible,
• protect the cakes whilst in transit – I post cakes a lot so I have disposable cardboard cake cases which I cook the cakes in, and these fit perfectly into boxes I bought precisely for this purpose. When packing in boxes, make sure the cake cannot move in the box, adding a filler, such as bubble wrap, to keep it safe and immobile.
• No boxes? No problem. When I first started sending cakes, I would simply wrap the cake in a good few layers of bubble wrap and then brown paper, and it would still arrive in tip top condition.

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How to make Chocolate Lump Cake

It is very simple and quick to make – simply throw all the ingredients, except the chocolate chunks, into a bowl, whisk together until thoroughly mixed, fold in the chocolate, tip into a lined loaf tin, cook! Couldn’t be easier.

I normally use cocoa to flavour my chocolate cakes but this recipe uses Cadbury’s drinking chocolate and a bit of coffee to bring out the chocolate flavour. You can use any chocolate for the lumps but the original recipe specifies Bournville chocolate, which is a dark chocolate but with only 36% cocoa solids.

The quantities in the recipe are sufficient for 1 x 900g/2lb loaf tin or 2 x 450g/1lb loaf tins. I tend to double these ingredients when making this cake though! It freezes well and I love sending it as a gift.

Collect all your ingredients together:

• unsalted butter, at room temperature
• caster sugar
• fine salt
• plain/all-purpose flour
• drinking chocolate, I use Cadbury’s (not cocoa)
• baking powder
• large eggs
• instant coffee mixed with boiling water
• milk
• chopped chocolate, I used Bournville dark chocolate, minimum 36%cocoa solids

How to make the cake:

1. Chop the chocolate into small chunks.
2. Mix boiling water with the coffee and set aside to cool.
3. Beat the butter to make sure it is soft.
4. Weigh the sugar, salt, flour, drinking chocolate and baking powder to your mixing bowl. Then add the eggs, coffee mixed with water and the milk.
5. Beat with an electric mixer until nearly mixed and then scrape down the sides of the bowl.
6. Beat again until thoroughly mixed. You should not beat the batter for more than a minute in total. Do not over-mix.
7. Add the chocolate and fold in with a spatula or spoon. Again, do not over-mix.
8. Transfer to a loaf tin lined with baking parchment and level the surface.
9. Cook in the centre of a pre-heated oven until cooked. It is cooked when:
   • the centre feels springy when lightly touched with your finger and no imprint remains.
   • a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
   • the cake is beginning to come away from the sides of the tin/dish.
10. Leave in the tin for 5 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack.

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Made this recipe?

If you make this recipe, do please tag me on instagram @daffodil_kitchen. You could also leave a comment in the box directly below the recipe.