Dense Chocolate Loaf Cake

Our answer

Nigella's Dense Chocolate Loaf cake (from Domestic Goddess) is a damp cake that has a texture that is similar to ginger cake. It should not really have a crisp sugary crust and neither does the cake rise that much, indeed it may even sink a little in the middle on cooling.

A sugary crust could have been formed if the top of the cake rose above the tin while the oven was still at a high temperature. The crust will set more quickly if it is exposed and could become more crisp. As the cake doesn't have much leavening in it then this extra rise would most likely have come from the stage where the butter and sugar are creamed together and then the eggs are beaten in. Beating a lot will incorporate extra air. Unfortunately as the cake is not desigened to have a crust we cannot say whether extra beating will replicate the crust you had before. You could also try sprinkling a little granulated sugar on the surface of the cake just before baking it. This would give some crispy sections of crust.