Strawberry Chocolate Chunk Loaf
A snacking cake is a chameleon (of the non-creepy variety). You can take the batter and put it in a muffin tin for muffins, you can dress it up for dessert, you can put it in a loaf pan and call it breakfast, or you can cook it in a square pan and cut it into sturdy little squares for a delightful snack. Adding chocolate chunks to a fruit cake (or bread) makes it an easy sell to my little ones who think fruit should never, ever, ever be cooked. I happen to love the little jammy bites of strawberries studded throughout and the whole package brings to mind the delight of biting into a chocolate covered strawberry. When I don’t have the patience for scooping individual muffins, I’ll pour the whole batter into a loaf pan and relish in toasting the slices througout the week with a pat of butter to gild the lily. Teatime just got a whole lot better.
1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
(I use all purpose einkorn flour, but any will work!)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
¼ cup butter, melted
¾ cup coconut sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
¾ cup yogurt
½ cup diced strawberries
3 ounces chocolate, roughly chopped
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Grab a 9x5 loaf pan or as close as you can get (universal sizes hasn’t come to loaf pans yet :) and put your cold butter in the pan. Pop the whole pan in the oven while it preheats to melt your butter so you can save yourself an extra dish AND butter your baking pan at the same time! Meanwhile, whisk your egg with the coconut sugar, yogurt, and vanilla. When the butter is melted, pour it in and whisk well. Add the flour, baking soda, and salt right on top and fold it together with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Finally, add the chopped strawberries and chocolate and fold through. Scrape the batter into the buttered pan and put it back in the oven. Bake for about 35 minutes and check it for doneness. I like to stick a sharp knife or toothpick in the center. If it comes out with wet batter it’s not done! If the knife or toothpick is dry, it’s done cooking. Let it cool in the loaf pan before attempting to remove it. Cut in thick slices and enjoy!
