Extravagant show-stoppers are all well and good, but when it comes down to it you simply can’t beat a humble loaf cake. Easy to make and even easier to eat, loaf cakes are the perfect combination of quick, simple, and comforting. Here, we’ve rounded up 21 of our favourite recipes, from a frosted marble cake to tangy blueberry and lemon loaf.
Banana Loaf
The perennially popular Mary Berry banana loaf is a Happy Foodie community favourite, and with good reason. It’s a beautifully sweet, moist cake, and the recipe couldn’t be more straightforward.
From the book
Simple Cakes
Classic tea-time treats
Mary’s easiest cakes
Stunning desserts
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Blueberry, Almond and Lemon Cake
This fruity loaf cake from Ottolenghi’s Simple is studded with fresh blueberries and drizzled with a zingy lemon icing. The ground almonds in the mixture help to ensure a moist texture.
Golden Apricot and Marzipan Loaf Cake
This light fruit cake from Paul Hollywood is layered with chunks of marzipan for a fragrant almond flavour.
Perfect Banana Bread
Take your banana bread to the next level with this recipe from Felicity Cloake’s Perfect Too. Felicity’s recipe includes a few ingenious tricks to ensure your banana bread is a cut above the rest.
Plum Bread in a Hurry
Perfect for those hectic days that leave you needing an emergency cake fix, this quick plum bread from Bake Me a Cake as Fast as You Can can be ready in under forty-five minutes.
Chocolate and Vanilla Marble Loaf
A classic British tea-time treat, this aesthetically pleasing cake consists of swirls of vanilla and chocolate sponge topped with a layer of rich chocolate ganache.
Rosemary, Parsnip and Parmesan Loaf Cake
This is a savoury, spelt flour loaf cake, which can be eaten just as it is, spread with butter, or served alongside a hot bowl of soup.
Banana Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting
A slightly more luxurious take on banana bread, this cake from Georgina Hayden is topped with a layer of fluffy peanut butter frosting, making for a truly decadent treat.
Ginger Cake
Comfort baking at its finest – this moist ginger cake is just thing to go with your morning cup of tea.
Caramelised Fig Semolina Loaf
One for the warmer months, this loaf cake is made with orange blossom water and fresh figs. Serve with a dollop of thick Greek yoghurt and enjoy the Mediterranean flavours.
Chocolate and Banana Loaf
Yet another banana loaf (you can never really have too many). The combination of banana and chocolate in this recipe from the Primrose Bakery is hard to resist.
Ricotta, Lemon, Polenta Teacakes
These mini ricotta and lemon loaves are made with polenta and ground almonds, rather than flour, so they’re gluten-free.
Mary Berry’s Courgette Loaves
This moist loaf, flavoured with walnut and cinnamon, is similar to carrot cake and is a great way to use up a summertime glut of courgettes. Mary recommends eating this warm, with butter or cream cheese.
Orange and Hazelnut Cake with Orange Flower Syrup
Another wheat-free bake, this one is made with ground hazelnuts and drizzled with a fragrant orange flower syrup.
Vegan Banana Bread
This one’s for the vegan bakers out there. Banana bread is the ideal vegan bake, since mashed bananas are a great replacement for eggs, helping to bind the cake together and add moisture.
Linda’s Lemon Drizzle Cake
It’s almost impossible to refuse a slice of lemon drizzle cake, especially this tangy and moreish number from Mary McCartney.
Chocolate and Pear Cake
Anna del Conte’s Chocolate and Pear Cake is the ideal balance of bitter and sweet. It’s goes perfectly with a cup of tea, and works equally well as a sophisticated dessert.
Sweet Coconut Loaf with Berry Coulis
We take this Coconut Loaf recipe as a perfect excuse to eat cake for breakfast – though it’s excellent at any time of day. The sharp tang of the berry coulis lifts the buttery loaf to new heights.
Chocolate Marble Cake with White Chocolate Icing
This loaf is slightly less lazy than the others, but is totally worth it. Topped with creamy and sweet white chocolate icing, it’s a real crowdpleaser that’s guaranteed to become a regular fixture in your kitchen.
Super-Chocolatey Snacking Cake
A fabulously rich cake, filled with chocolate chips and covered in not one but two types of melted chocolate, this is the ultimate elevenses snack. It also happens to be totally vegan.
