White Chocolate and Citrus Loaf

One of my friends gave me a bag of the vegan white chocolate chips that she uses for her business and after munching more of them than I care to admit, I decided to try out a recipe I've been contemplating for a while. If you can't get hold of chocolate chips then a chopped up chocolate bar will work as well. The chocolate does melt into the batter during baking but gives little pockets of sweetness throughout the cake. I love the freshness of the citrus in this cake which cuts through the rich sweetness of the chocolate. I made this in 2 loaf pans and gifted one to neighbours as a doorstep surprise but the recipe could easily be made in one larger tin - be careful to keep an eye on your baking times if you change the tin shapes. We have had gorgeous sunny weather the last few days and this cake feels like a little slice of summer.

Ingredients:

1 large lemon
1 lime
1/2 cup white chocolate chips or 1 chocolate bar
400g self raising flour
250g caster sugar
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
3 tbsp golden syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
400ml soy milk
115ml sunflower oil
2 cups icing sugar - you may need more

Method:

Preheat your oven to 160c then grease and line 2 loaf tins with baking parchment.  Zest the lime and lemon into a large bowl and set the fruit to one side. Add all of the ingredients apart from the icing sugar and chocolate chip into the bowl and mix well until everything is combined and the batter is smooth and glossy. Gently fold in the chocolate chips the divide the mixture between the 2 tins. I use a ladle for this to try and make the cakes nicely even.

Bake for 35-40 minutes until the cakes are a dark golden colour and a skewer comes out clean when dipped in the middle. Leave in the tins for 15 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack.

Once the cakes are completely cool, juice the lime and lemon. I find rolling them on a flat surface before cutting open and squeezing helps to release more juice. Strain the juice to remove and bits then place in a bowl or mixing jug. Slowly add in icing sugar, mixing all the time, until you get a paste resembling double cream. The icing should be sweet but still have a sharp freshness from the citrus.

Place a tea towel under the cakes cooling rack then spoon half of the icing over the top. Allow to set then spoon the other half of the mixture over the top to give a good layer of icing. If you add it all at once, I find most of it slides off and is wasted. The tea towel helps to catch drips and saves trying to scrub set icing off work surfaces later on.

I hope you enjoy this cake.

If you make it, please take a picture and tag me using #diaryofadefectivehousewife

Big love and stay safe
The Defective Housewife