If you’ve tired of making banana bread, try this loaf cake instead. It’s moist and fudgy and improves as it sits. If you don’t have buttermilk, you can make it by adding lemon juice or white vinegar to milk. If you don’t have prunes, you can substitute dried figs, or omit them altogether. This recipe doubles well, should you want to give a loaf to a friend.
Makes one loaf; serves 8
Unsalted butter, for greasing the pan
5 ounces milk or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
15 dried pitted prunes
10 tablespoons buttermilk
½ cup canola oil
½ cup sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ cup good-quality Dutch-process cocoa powder, such as Guittard, plus more for dusting the pan
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon baking soda
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and arrange a rack in the center. Grease a 8 ½-inch by 4 ½
-inch by 2 ½-inch loaf pan with butter and dust with cocoa powder.
Bring 1-inch of water to a simmer in a small saucepan. Put half (2.5 ounces) of the chocolate in a small heatproof bowl and set the bowl over the simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water. Let stand until the chocolate has melted, then stir until smooth. Set aside. Put the prunes in a bowl and pour simmering water from the saucepan over the prunes to cover; let stand 10 minutes.
In a large bowl whisk together the buttermilk, canola oil, sugars, eggs, and vanilla. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.
Remove the prunes from the water and finely chop. Stir the dry ingredients into the wet, mixing until smooth, then stir in the melted chocolate. Add the remaining 2.5 ounces chopped chocolate and the prunes and stir to combine. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and bake on a rack in the center of the oven until puffed and cracked on top and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it, about 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack, then turn out of the pan and let cool completely. Cut into fat slices and serve.