Chocolate Orange Loaf Cake

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1 1/4 sticks (10 Tbsp.) unsalted butter, softened

2 TBSP golden syrup (such as Lyle's) or dark corn syrup

1 cup dark brown sugar, packed

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking soda

3 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted

2 eggs

Zest of 2 small oranges (1 TBSP) and juice of 1 small orange (3 TBSP)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line a 9×5×3-inch loaf pan with parchment paper. Grease sides of pan or line with a paper loaf-pan liner.

In large bowl, with electric mixer beat the butter, syrup (brush a little oil on your tablespoon measure before measuring the syrup to help remove it from spoon), and sugar until fairly smooth.

In a separate bowl combine; flour, baking soda, and cocoa powder. Beat 1 tablespoon of the dry ingredients into the syrup mixture, then beat in one egg. Add another couple of spoonfuls of dry ingredients before beating in the remaining egg.

Beat in remaining dry ingredients, and then add, while still beating, the orange zest. Gradually add the juice. The batter may look slightly curdled.

Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 45 minutes (edges should look dry and center of cake may have dipped slightly). Cool in pan on wire rack. Carefully remove from pan and cool completely.

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*****PLEASE READ***** (BEFORE you make this recipe)

My Chocolate Orange Loaf did not turn out as pictured above. Please bake this recipe at your own risk.

This is what mine looked like: 

This is what I know happened:

As I was cooking the loaf it started rising above the edge of the pan. I wasn't too worried about it because I thought it would still bake ok. Next time I checked on it, it had overflowed the pan and large chunks were now baking on the bottom of my oven. I let it go a little longer until I realized the chunks on the bottom were really burning, and I wanted to avoid the whole smoke-coming-out-of-the-oven-because-the-food-is-on-fire scenario. SO I opened the oven, watched my loaf cake drastically deflate, and scooped out the burning piles on the bottom. After 45 minutes it was still extremely wet and undercooked, so I left it in for 10 more min. And you can see what I ended up with. I picked the burned parts off and as I tried to take it out of the pan it fell apart, hence the bowl. At least it still tasted good.

Now, on to the possibilities of what may have gone wrong: 

I may have put the wrong amount of baking soda in?

I used light brown sugar rather than dark brown sugar?

I should not have (over) mixed it in the Bosch and just used a hand mixer as suggested?

I should not have let the entire prepared batter stand while I zested and juiced the orange?

I haven't the heck of an idea what really went wrong?

So, if you decided to make this (and please do, since I won't be trying again anytime soon, and I'd like to know how to make it correctly):

Try doing the opposite of the things that I listed as possible wrongness. And good luck! And comment with your results! (Thank you!)