TWD: Dressy Chocolate Loafcake

Saturday night I attended a solstice/birthday/Goddess party. It's an annual event held by a friend whose birthday happens around the summer solstice. It's for women only, women of all ages, from 7 to 90+.

Everyone brings some kind of food, and there are plenty of beverages of all kinds.

When the sun goes down, we build a big bonfire, then we toss in wreaths and garlands made from herbs, grasses, pine branches, or whatever is handy. Out with the old. It goes up in smoke.


Ready for the new year.


This year we went around the circle, saying our names and telling everyone what we had accomplished lately. That's always the interesting part. For some, just getting out of bed in the morning is an accomplishment; for others, it's a new job or a new relationship or the end of an existing relationship. We women are a hardy bunch, to be sure. I'm already looking forward to next summer.


In honor of the party and the hostess, I baked and shared this week's Tuesdays with Dorie special -- Dressy Chocolate Loafcake, selected by Amy of Amy Ruth Bakes. I only got a half a piece from the first slice, as it disappeared very quickly.


I didn't encounter any problems with preparation or baking. Well, one slight issue, perhaps. The cocoa was a bit obstinate. Even though it was mixed with the flour, it chose to fly all over the room when mixing so that I finally resorted to hand mixing. Little pockets of cocoa kept appearing, so that I greatly feared I was overmixing the batter. However, I finally won the battle, and the cake didn't seem the worse for wear, turning out just fine.

The next time I make it, I will incorporate the cocoa with the butter and sugar, before I add the flour.


Here's the montage.

Cooling cake, right-side up, in pan.



Cooling cake, upside down, out of pan.





First layer of cherry jam. Cake has been split into thirds.




Final assembly and luscious semisweet chocolate/sour cream frosting.




Inside view, after the first slice. The slices tended to slide apart at the cherry seams, so it was a bit tricky to plate.





This was the only piece I got, and I shared it with my mother.




It definitely was perfect for the party, a hit all the way around.



Some of the other TWD bakers had more adventures with this cake, so be sure and check out their comments.