This lovely cake is quite easy, but still really tasty and colourful. It’ll be great with afternoon tea in a sunny “English country garden”, or enjoy it indoors while watching the rain.

Serves: 10 – 12 slices

Time: 90 – 95 minutes + cooling

Level: Easy

Need: A 1kg (2lb) loaf tin

Ingredients

For the cake

About 200g/7oz strawberries & 50g/1.75oz sugar (or use ready made jam)
75g/2.5oz milk chocolate, broken into small pieces
50g/1.75oz white chocolate, broken into small pieces
2 tsp milk
175g/6oz self-raising flour
½ tsp baking powder
A generous pinch of salt
150g/5.5oz softened unsalted butter, or baking spread
150g/5.5oz caster sugar
3 eggs
small amount of red food colouring

For the topping

60g/2oz – 75g/2.5oz white chocolate
25g/1oz butter
Sprinkles of your choice

Method

1. First, clean and destalk the strawberries. Cut into pieces and place in a saucepan with the sugar. Heat moderately then allow the mixture to simmer until it becomes softer and mushier. Squash it all together then strain off the liquid. Set the strawberry “mush” to one side.

2. Now preheat oven to 180°C / fan 160°C / 350° F / gas 4.

3. Grease and line the loaf tin, or simply insert a shaped paper liner without greasing the tin.

4. In separate bowls, melt the two chocolates, each with 1 tsp milk, in the micro wave using short blasts and regular stirring. Set aside to cool.

5. Put the flour, baking powder and salt into a large bowl, then add the butter, sugar and eggs. Beat lightly until everything is fully combined.

6. Put a little more than half the mixture into another bowl. Stir the melted milk chocolate into this bowl. Stir the white chocolate, strawberry puree* and a small squirt of food colouring into the other bowl. (*NB First, you might need to reduce the liquid content of the “mush”, possibly using kitchen paper towels or by re-straining.)

7. Place alternate “blobs” of each mixture into the tin and swirl the two together with a skewer, knife or similar instrument. Don’t overdo this or the two shades will not be distinctive.

8. Bake for 60 – 65 minutes. Test for “doneness” by inserting a skewer into the middle. If it comes out dry, the cake is ready. Cool in the tin for ten minutes then turn out onto a wire rack to cool fully.

9. To make the topping, melt the chocolate and butter. Cool until the mixture is firm but still spreadable. Spread or brush it over the cake then add the sprinkles.

I hope you enjoy making (and eating) this lovely cake. If you want more loaf cake recipes click here. But first, let me show you a few of my favourites that I think you’ll love:

Bara Brith