I like baking.  But the kind of baking I do is often limited by time.  In case you’re curious, the criteria for recipes I want to try are:

• The recipe itself needs to be easy to follow.  If I’ve read it twice over and I cannot understand what I am supposed to do, forget it.
• I need to have the ingredients on hand or the ingredients in the recipe in question need to be either substitutable with stuff I have on hand, or the ingredients be something I’m willing to have in the pantry, or be entirely used up in the recipe.
• It cannot include things I don’t want to eat.
• And the easier the better.

The Chocolate Chip Pecan Loaf Cake qualifies on all counts.  It comes from a relatively new book – In the Kitchen with a Good Appetite by Melissa Clark, which I have enjoyed reading and have enjoyed cooking from.  One of the things this author writes about is her persistent recipe fiddling which I feel makes us sisters in the way we deal with recipes.  So I’m pretty sure that she won’t mind that I’ve already revised hers a bit.

Here’s what you need:

1 Cup of Sugar

2/3 C Plain Yogurt – I used Trader Joe’s Non Fat Greek style Plain Yogurt because that’s what I have around.

3 Large Eggs

1-3/4 C All Purpose Flour

1-1/2 Tsp Baking Powder

1/4 Tsp Baking Soda

1/4 Tsp Kosher Salt

2/3 C Unsalted Butter, Melted

1 C Chocolate Chips (Melissa Clark uses 1/2 cup which I think is not nearly enough)

1 C Chopped Toasted Pecans (The author uses 1/2 cup.  My sentiments above apply here as well)

Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease a 9×5 in  loaf pan says her instructions.   Note: I add more stuff into my Chocolate Chip Pecan Loaf cake because from my point of view, if the title of a recipe is something, it really should represent those items in a plentiful way.  This means that when I follow my recipe and reasoning, there’s 1 cup more stuff to fit into the 9×5 pan.  It does not fit well.  The first time I made it I increased the chocolate and the pecans, used the 9×5 pan and,  blobs of batter rose over the side of the pan and plopped onto the bottom of the oven where they made delicious smell followed by a less delicious burning smell.  So.  If you follow my revisions, use a slightly larger pan. Or use two smaller ones. Or use a 9×5 and make an extra cupcake.  Or ignore the pan spillage and put a spill over pan below the loaf pan in the oven so you can take it out at about 10-20 mins of cooking and preview the delicious cake in small blobby bits.    I personally use a longish loaf pan that I bought at Ikea that seems to fit the batter perfectly.

Pardon that diversion.   I hope I haven’t lost you.  Moving on….

Whisk together the sugar and yogurt.  Add the eggs one at a time and whisk until completely combined.

In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Add the dry mixture into the wet and mix until just combined.

Using a spatula, fold in the melted butter a little at a time.  Fold in the chocolate chips and the pecans.

Scrape the batter into the greased pan and bake for 50-55 minutes or until the cake is golden and the tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before turning it out onto a wire rack to cool to room temperature, right side up.

Try not to devour in one sitting.

By the way, here’s a printable version of the recipe. No pictures but easier to deal with in the kitchen if you don’t have your computer/laptop nearby.

Chocolate Chip Pecan Cake