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)
- 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).
- 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 🙂
- Freeze the berry stacks overnight.
- FOR THE CHOCOLATE BANANA BATTER: The next day, start by preheating the oven to 350F.
- Blend the bananas, coconut sugar, non-dairy milk, and maple syrup in a blender.
- Combine the flour, baking powder, and cacao powder in a bowl. Stir to combine.
- Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix.
- Remove the strawberry stacks from the freezer. Allow them to defrost just long enough to be able to remove the toothpicks.
- Pour 1/3 of the batter into a 8×4″ loaf pan lined with parchment paper.
- 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.
- Cover the strawberries with the remaining batter. It’s okay if a few are still peeking through.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes at 350 until the center is no longer squishy.
- Let it cool for 5-10 minutes before slicing and indulging. Or refrigerate before slicing for a firmer texture.
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!
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 😉
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
Ooh yes I did it with cherries and it was fantastic!!
This looks amazing, and I will be making it for Valentine’s Day dessert! Thanks Natalie!! 🙂
Yay! Thanks Heather, and if you do I’d love to hear how it goes 🙂
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!
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
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..
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!
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?
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
Nice!! I was debating between the Banana Pumpkin Pie and this one.. Hmmm.. Maybe both 😉 Haha
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!
These look so tasty! Chocolate and strawberry is just the perfect combination!
I agree! I find myself putting them together all the time 🙂 Thanks for stopping my Pamela!
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
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 🙂
Thank tou very much dear Natalie.
I will sure try this and send a photo.
This looks perrrrfect! Do you think I can sub the sugar for honey? 🙂
Subbing a liquid sweetener like honey for a granulated one will affect the moisture balance of the bread too I’m afraid. Sorry!