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vegan, chocolate, gluten-free, cakes & breads, sweet · January 30, 2015

Chocolate Lava Loaf with Strawberry Love in Every Slice

Since it’s nearly Valentine’s Day, I wanted to bake up something chocolatey, something pink, something with a lovey-dovey vibe. Of course I bake love into everything I make (my inner Hallmark card just had to throw that in, sorry), but this time there’s evidence. Ripe, red, heart-shaped evidence.

I wanted this Chocolate Heart Loaf to be indulgent, but it turned out to be even more indulgent than I had intended. It turned out to be more indulgent than should be allowed!

What I was trying to make was a chocolate loaf with a strawberry heart in the middle. What i did make was a chocolate banana loaf with a gooey pudding center and a strawberry heart at its heart. Lots of flavors and textures inside and out, and pure decadence the whole way through.

I didn’t anticipate how much moisture the strawberry core would add while baking, so the lava part was a happy surprise even for me! But when life gives me chocolatey, gooey surprises, I don’t object.

A simpler strawberry alternative • If your don’t want to bother will all the strawberry slicing and stacking to achieve the strawberry heart, then you can just scatter a line of frozen strawberries (or even cherries) down the center of the batter, hide it with another layer of batter, and bake. The cross-section may not be as impressive, but the taste will still be very impressive.

A less gooey alternative • If you don’t want a gooey chocolate lava-loaf (for someone bizarre reason that I can’t understand), then chill the whole thing before slicing it. It will still be fudgey, but a little less messy.

Chocolate Lava Loaf with Strawberry Love

Makes a 8×4 inch loaf pan

12 large strawberries

3 ripe bananas

1/2 cup non-dairy milk

1/2 cup coconut sugar

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used gluten-free, but whole wheat works too)

1 tbsp baking powder

1/4 cup cacao powder (or cocoa powder)

  1. FOR THE STRAWBERRY HEART: De-stem and slice the strawberries into heart-shaped slices. I got about 3 usable slices per berry, and the 2 rounded outside pieces to eat (or save for smoothies).
  2. Stack the berry slices into multiple stacks as tall as possible. Insert a toothpick into each stack to hold it together. I got about 3-4 stacks. The taller they are the easier it will be to insert them into the cake. It’s a balancing game 🙂
  3. Freeze the berry stacks overnight.
  4. FOR THE CHOCOLATE BANANA BATTER: The next day, start by preheating the oven to 350F.
  5. Blend the bananas, coconut sugar, non-dairy milk, and maple syrup in a blender.
  6. Combine the flour, baking powder, and cacao powder in a bowl. Stir to combine.
  7. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix.
  8. Remove the strawberry stacks from the freezer. Allow them to defrost just long enough to be able to remove the toothpicks.
  9. Pour 1/3 of the batter into a 8×4″ loaf pan lined with parchment paper.
  10. Insert the rows of strawberries point down into the center of the pan. Push them down until they are almost touching the bottom of the pan.
  11. Cover the strawberries with the remaining batter. It’s okay if a few are still peeking through.
  12. Bake for 40-45 minutes at 350 until the center is no longer squishy.
  13. Let it cool for 5-10 minutes before slicing and indulging. Or refrigerate before slicing for a firmer texture.

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In: vegan, chocolate, gluten-free, cakes & breads, sweet · Tagged: bake, banana, bread, loaf, strawberry, valentines

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Comments

  1. Rebecca Pytell says

    February 11, 2015 at 3:39 pm

    I have a mini loaf pan…I should scale the recipe and make it for breakfast 😉 YUMOOOOOOOO Gooey chocolate. I think we should declare strawberry/chocolate the essential V-Day combo!

    Reply
    • Natalie Thomas says

      February 11, 2015 at 3:57 pm

      Yes, yes you should! I love "dessert" recipes that can double as breakfast! Berries + chocolate = v-day, I have a post all about that coming later this week 😉

      Reply
  2. Shonalika Tilak says

    February 11, 2015 at 9:06 pm

    I’m weirdly not keen on the taste of cooked strawberries (even in chocolate, I’ve tried!) but I LOVE fruit in cakes in general and the resulting gooeyness – will have to try this, perhaps with a raspberry core instead:D

    Reply
    • Natalie Thomas says

      February 11, 2015 at 9:20 pm

      Ooh yes I did it with cherries and it was fantastic!!

      Reply
  3. Heather says

    February 11, 2015 at 9:24 pm

    This looks amazing, and I will be making it for Valentine’s Day dessert! Thanks Natalie!! 🙂

    Reply
    • Natalie Thomas says

      February 11, 2015 at 9:37 pm

      Yay! Thanks Heather, and if you do I’d love to hear how it goes 🙂

      Reply
  4. The Healthy Redhead says

    February 11, 2015 at 9:27 pm

    O.M.G. I cannot WAIT to try this!! I think I’m gonna do frozen, dark, sweet cherries (as you suggested). I’m already drooling. Thank you, Miss Natalie. <3 And Happy Valentine’s Day!

    Reply
    • Natalie Thomas says

      February 11, 2015 at 9:39 pm

      I loved the flavor of the loaf I made with the cherries because cherries + chocolate is a divine combo! But cherries aren’t shaped like hearts, so I went with the strawberries for visual reasons 🙂 You will love it, and Happy Valentine’s to you too XOXO

      Reply
  5. cL says

    September 14, 2015 at 4:37 am

    Omgosh. Natalie. This was SOOOOOOO good. It was spongy, light, airy, and the addition of juicy strawberries just made it perfect! Definitely a keeper!! I tagged you on Instagram so you can see my creation!!

    I did have a question though, what makes the loaf so spongy? It was much more chewy than any other loaf I have made..

    Reply
    • [email protected] says

      September 14, 2015 at 12:06 pm

      I just saw your pic on Instagram and it looks fantastic! So decadent and perfectly pocked with little pieces of strawberry peeking through 🙂 I’m so happy that you liked it, it’s one of my favorites too! The spongy-ness mostly just comes from the baking powder in this recipe. You could make the same recipe without the strawberries and it would be less gooey and even spongier!

      Reply
      • cL says

        September 14, 2015 at 2:19 pm

        I actually love the addition of strawberries!! It definitely provides a burst of freshness and makes the loaf less one-dimensional in taste 😀

        I had it for breakfast today and it was perfect; not too sweet which made me have almost half the loaf.. But then again it is packed full of bananas and strawberries, so it is a healthy start, after all 😉

        Thank you so much!! Going to whip up another recipe from your site this week. Any pumpkin ones you recommend the most?

        Reply
        • [email protected] says

          September 14, 2015 at 2:22 pm

          Totally breakfast approved 🙂

          I don’t have any pumpkin recipes from this year yet, but these Granola Topped Pumpkin Maple Muffins from last fall are one of my faves: https://www.feastingonfruit.com/home/2014/10/08/pumpkin-maple-granola-muffins

          Reply
          • cL says

            September 14, 2015 at 2:26 pm

            Nice!! I was debating between the Banana Pumpkin Pie and this one.. Hmmm.. Maybe both 😉 Haha

          • [email protected] says

            September 14, 2015 at 2:28 pm

            Haha 😀 Well the pie was my first thought too, but pumpkin pie is so expected I was trying to offer something different…but yeah, pie is delicious!

  6. Pamela says

    May 12, 2016 at 2:45 pm

    These look so tasty! Chocolate and strawberry is just the perfect combination!

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      May 12, 2016 at 3:47 pm

      I agree! I find myself putting them together all the time 🙂 Thanks for stopping my Pamela!

      Reply
  7. tris dimitropoulou says

    April 7, 2017 at 10:23 am

    Hello Natalie,
    This recipe sounds very tasty.
    I already put in the freezer the strawberries. I was wondering if I could change something in order for this cake to be
    more easily cut and served in a place that there will be no plates or spoons. Can I make it more flat? or more dry?
    Thank you.
    TRis

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      April 7, 2017 at 10:55 am

      Sure, you could bake it in a square or round cake pan (8×8″ or so) to make it flatter and it will actually cook through more this way too. And if you just leave the strawberries in chunks sprinkled throughout the batter it won’t be as messy. If you go with a cake pan, check it after about 35-40 minutes though because it probably won’t take quite as long to cook. Hope that helps 🙂

      Reply
  8. Tris says

    April 7, 2017 at 11:02 am

    Thank tou very much dear Natalie.
    I will sure try this and send a photo.

    Reply
  9. Francisca says

    June 12, 2017 at 9:16 am

    This looks perrrrfect! Do you think I can sub the sugar for honey? 🙂

    Reply
    • Natalie says

      June 12, 2017 at 11:42 am

      Subbing a liquid sweetener like honey for a granulated one will affect the moisture balance of the bread too I’m afraid. Sorry!

      Reply

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