Chocolate & sesame loaf cake

I love tahini and was surprised to find it works in baking too. This mixture makes two loaf cakes, which will freeze beautifully.

un-iced cake only MAKES 2 cakes PREP 20 mins plus chilling COOK 55 mins–1 hr

FOR THE CHOCOLATE SWIRL 200g butter, plus extra for greasing 200g dark chocolate, chopped 200g golden caster sugar 100ml strong espresso 100ml soured cream 2 eggs 200g self-raising flour 5 tsp cocoa powder FOR THE SESAME SWIRL 250g self-raising flour 150g tahini 1 heaped tsp baking powder 150ml strong black coffee 150g golden caster sugar

1/ 4 tsp cinnamon 2 tbsp milk FOR THE TOPPING 200ml double cream 40g butter 200g dark chocolate, chopped 4 x 30g pack sesame snaps

1 Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease two 900g loaf tins (8.5cm deep) and line with baking parchment. 2 First, make the chocolate cake mixture. Put the butter and chocolate in a large heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, stirring occasionally. Put all the other ingredients in a large mixing bowl and, when the chocolate and butter have melted, pour over and mix with an electric whisk until smooth and well combined. Set aside and rinse the beaters. 3 In another large bowl, add all the sesame cake ingredients, then combine with an electric whisk until smooth. 4 Alternating with dollops of each mixture, divide between the two tins. Level the top, then swirl a skewer through the mixture to create a marbled effect. Bake in the middle of the oven for 45-50 mins or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave the cakes to cool completely on a wire rack while you make the topping (there’s enough for both cakes but the topping recipe is easily halved if you want to freeze one and ice it later) 5 Heat the double cream and butter together gently in a small pan until just simmering, then remove from the heat and add the chocolate. Stir until the mixture is smooth, then place in the fridge for 20 mins to frm up. 6 Beat well with a wooden spoon, then transfer to a disposable piping bag. Snip the end off to make a wide opening, then pipe thick, overlapping zigzags across the cakes. Cut the sesame snaps into shards and arrange on top, scattering over any crumbs, then serve. PER SERVING 616 kcals • fat 38g • saturates 19g • carbs 61g • sugars 33g • fbre 4g • protein 8g • salt 0.7g

Leave the un-iced cake to cool. Wrap first in baking parchment, then cling film, and freeze for up to 2 months. Once defrosted, top with the icing in step 5.