1: Preheat and Prep Your Pan
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Now grease your loaf baking pan (or bundt pan) with the aid of butter or cooking spray, then lightly dust it with cocoa powder. This way, your cake would not get stuck in the pan and its sides would also give a hint of a chocolate taste to the overall flavor.

2: Cream Butter and Sugar
Then, into a big mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar until it becomes almost cream, light, and fluffy. Usually, this takes about 3-4 minutes with the electric mixer. Do not cheap on this-it’s the key to that tender, moist cake.

3: Add the Eggs
You should crack each egg one at a time, beating them very well after every addition. In theory, your mixture should be slightly thick but smooth after the last egg.

4: Mix the Dry Ingredients
In a different bowl, whisk the all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. This step helps distribute the cocoa evenly, so you don’t end up with random pockets of chocolate.

5: Combine Wet and Dry Ingredients
Now it gets really fun. Start off by mixing the dry ingredients with the butter-sugar egg batter alternately with some milk. The starting and finishing parts will really make a difference for the final texture. Now with the mixture combined, add a bit of vanilla extract; it will be like the cherry on top of your batter and will give that final stamp of flavor. Finally, do one final mix to ensure everything is well combined.

6: Pour and Bake
Pour into the greased pan and smooth out the top using a spatula. Bake for 70 to 80 minutes, or until the cake is done, as tested by inserting a toothpick in the middle; it should come out clear, perhaps with a few crumbs stuck to it.

7: Cool and Decorate
Leave the cake to cool in its pan for about 15 minutes and then turn it onto a wire rack. Once it has cooled completely, it can be dusted with powdered sugar, drizzled with some ganache, or really have fun with whipped cream and berries.