Another loaf cake :))

Well this cold weather looks like its here to stay for a while...must say I'm sick of it now and desperate for some mild and warm weather but until then I'm occupying the cold days with lots of baking. Again I made a loaf cake but this was purely because I had some ricotta left over and didn't really fancy anything savoury haha! I found a recipe and although it looked good I made many alterations to make it my own and really glad I did as the end result was divine, moist, chocolatey, and very moorish!

Chocolate, Orange and Walnut Ricotta Loaf Cake

1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup unsweetened Dutch cocoa powder
1 ¼ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
¼ cup milk
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup caster sugar
1/2 soft light brown sugar
8 oz whole fat ricotta cheese, at room temperature
Zest of one large orange
3 large eggs
1/2 cup toasted walnuts
½ cup (3 oz) chocolate chips

preheat the oven to 180/170c . Butter and Line an 8×4-inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
Sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder, soda, and salt into a bowl.
In another small bowl or a cup, combine the milk and vanilla extract.
In a large bowl, beat the butter until creamy, add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the ricotta and beat well to combine. Now add the orange zest and mix in.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Now add the dry ingredients in two additions alternating with the mix mixture, try not to over mix, just fold in enough to incorporate the ingredients. Stir in the toasted walnuts and chocolate chips.
Transfer the batter into the loaf tin, smooth the top and bake for about 1 hour or until a cake tester inserted into the centre comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes, then turn out and cool completely on a rack.