Chocolate Loaf Cake

December 17, 2021 Erin Clarkson

Dairy Free Chocolate Loaf Cake is super easy to make. The easy chocolate loaf cake recipe comes together quickly, and is soft and moist. It is topped with a dairy free chocolate frosting. This is the perfect chocolate loaf cake!

Thank you to Filippo Berio for sponsoring this post! All opinions are my own. Thank you so much for supporting the businesses who support Cloudy Kitchen!

Dairy Free Chocolate Loaf Cake

Hi hi! Just popping in to share the recipe for this dairy free loaf cake! I have been sitting on this one for a while and I am so, so excited to share it with you! This easy chocolate loaf cake recipe is the perfect back pocket recipe. It comes together quickly with little effort, and is dairy free, so a great option to make if you are catering for guests with dietary requirements. This chocolate loaf cake has a super simple dairy free chocolate icing, but can also be finished with a a quick sprinkle of powdered sugar.

The chocolate icing is a nod to my childhood - it is the stir together chocolate icing that I feel like every Nz Mum has a different version of, and it's just the best thing ever. You could add a little peppermint extract for a fun holiday twist, or some holiday sprinkles too if you like.

This chocolate loaf cake is perfect for whipping up when you need something quick and easy, and is great to make ahead. I love it so much and I hope you do too!

How to make Chocolate Loaf Cake

This dairy free chocolate loaf cake recipe is super easy, and comes together in just a couple of steps.

Whisk together dry ingredients - flour, brown sugar and white sugar (for texture and taste), baking powder, baking soda.
Whisk together wet ingredients - eggs, Filippo Berio Robusto Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and plant based milk.
Combine wet and dry ingredients and mix well to combine.
Bloom the cocoa powder by making a paste with the boiling water, then add to the mixture and whisk to combine. This is the secret trick to a super rich chocolate loaf cake.
Add the bloomed cocoa powder to the batter and mix to incorporate.
Transfer the whole thing to the lined loaf pan and bake until the centre springs back and a skewer comes out clean. Leave to cool.
Finish with the chocolate icing - whisk together all ingredients until smooth then spread over the cake and finish with sprinkles.

The secret to a super rich chocolate loaf cake

Blooming the cocoa in boiling water before adding to the batter is an easy trick which gives you a super rich chocolate cake. I use this technique in my mini chocolate layer cake too. To bloom the cocoa you combine the cocoa and boiling water to form a paste, then stir this into the batter. This helps to release the flavour from the cocoa and gives you a super rich chocolate cake. Lots of cakes will add boiling water to the recipe - I took this one step further by making a separate paste from the cocoa. It really does make a massive difference to the flavour of the cake with very little effort.

The importance of oven temperature in a recipe

You will notice that the bake temperature of this chocolate loaf cake is 325°f / 160°c, which is lower than the 'regular' 350°f / 180°c that most cakes are baked at. I played around with this when I was testing as I found that the loaf cake was doming too much in the middle of the pan and the edges were getting dry before the middle could cook, which gave a differentiation in texture. Dropping the oven temperature slightly meant that the cake didn't dome as much in the oven, which makes it a much nicer shape and much easier to add the dairy free chocolate frosting.

This is another reason why it is super important to make sure that your oven is properly calibrated. I highly recommend having an oven thermometer in there to check the accuracy.

Baking with Olive Oil

Another wee trick to a perfect textured chocolate loaf cake is using a good quality oil in the cake rather than butter. I used Filippo Berio's Robusto Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and it worked perfectly in the cake.

Using oil in cakes provides a different kind of moisture (oil is liquid at room temperature while butter is not), and chocolate cakes made with butter can be on the drier side. An oil based chocolate cake is going to have a better texture, moistness, and overall crumb. This also makes it really easy to keep dairy free.

Filippo Berio's Robusto Extra Virgin Olive Oil is slightly more punchy, so the flavour comes through in this olive oil chocolate cake, which I love. The flavour of robusto is fruity and peppery, which is super delicious with the chocolate. I love an intense olive oil, so it is the one I often also use to make salad dressings with. If you were looking for something lighter, their delicato would be perfect in here, or you could use their extra light olive oil for a super chocolate forward loaf cake.

FAQ for Chocolate Loaf Cake

What tools and equipment do you use?
You can see a full list of all the tools I use here

Which pan did you use?
I made this chocolate loaf cake in a 1lb loaf pan which is 8.5"x4.5" (21.5x11.5cm). You could make it in something larger - the loaf will just be a slightly different shape.
Can this cake be made ahead?
This chocolate loaf cake recipe is super delicious and moist, so it is perfect to make ahead (up to a day). I would leave off the frosting until the day you serve, and store it in an airtight container at room temperature.
Can I make this not dairy free?
Yes! Just use regular milk in both the cake and the frosting.
Is it possible to make this cake gluten / egg free?
I haven't tried either sorry!
Can chocolate loaf cake be frozen?
Yes, this will work great. I often double recipes like this (I have two loaf pans), and once cool, wrap one tightly in plastic wrap and freeze.
Can this loaf cake be made into muffins?
That should work just fine if you wanted to make dairy free chocolate cupcakes - divide the mixture evenly between lined muffin pans and bake - check after about 15 minutes for doneness. I am not 100% sure on how many it would make, but usually aim for filling the liners ¾ full.

For more recipes using Filippo Berio, check out:

Made this recipe and love it?

If you made this recipe then I would LOVE for you to leave me a review below to let me know how you liked it! Also, please make sure to tag me on Instagram if you make it!

A note on salt and oven temperature

It is important to note the type of salt that is called for in a recipe. I use Diamond Crystal salt throughout my recipes - if you use a different sort of kosher salt or regular table salt you will need to adjust accordingly as some salt is 'saltier' than others. Morton's salt is twice as salty, so you will need half the quantity. Same goes for a regular table salt. I am working to get gram measurements throughout my recipes for salt but still getting there.

All oven temperatures are conventional unless otherwise stated. If you are baking on fan / convection, you will need to adjust the temperature. An oven thermometer is a great investment to ensure that your oven is the correct temperature.

Using the double / triple function in the recipe card

You will notice that there is a '1X' '2X' '3X' button in my recipe card. This can be used for doubling or tripling a recipe. However, please note that this only doubles the ingredient quantities in the ingredients list and NOT in the method. If there are quantities or pan sizes in the method of the recipe (for example weigh out 150g brown butter), you will need to scale this number manually. It will also not change the baking time in the recipe so you will need to adjust this yourself too. It is always a good idea to read through a recipe fully before doubling it just to check this. If you would like to scale this recipe or convert for another pan size, use my calculator!

Tools and equipment

For a list of my go-to tools and equipment, I have a post you can refer to here.

Why is this recipe in grams?

I post my recipes in grams as it is the most accurate way to bake. Cups are not only inaccurate but they vary in volume worldwide. There is no way for me to provide one cup measure that works for everyone. However, posting in weight fixes this issue. If you would like the recipe in cups you are welcome to convert it yourself via google, but please do not ask me to do it for you as I am not comfortable providing a recipe using a method that I have not tested. Baking with a scale is easy, accurate, and also makes cleanup super simple. Here is the scale that I use if you would like a recommendation! Here's to accurate baking!

Recipe For Chocolate Loaf Cake