Chocolate bread with crystallized ginger

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Coat a 9x5-inch (2-L) loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray. In a medium-size bowl, using a fork, stir flour with baking powder and salt. Coarsely chop chocolate. Place in a medium-size saucepan or microwave-safe bowl. Set saucepan over low heat and stir often until melted. Or microwave on medium for 2 minutes, stirring until smooth and melted. While chocolate is warm, add mascarpone and stir until melted and combined. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer set on medium-high speed, beat butter until creamy, about 1 minute. Gradually beat in sugar until mixture is pale in colour, from 2 to 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low. Gradually beat in flour mixture just until blended. Stir in chocolate-mascarpone mixture and ginger just until batter is uniformly brown in colour. Scrape batter into loaf pan and smooth top. Bake in centre of 350F (180C) oven until a cake tester inserted into centre of loaf comes out clean, from 60 to 70 minutes. If edges or crack down centre of loaf start to get too brown before loaf is fully baked, place a sheet of foil loosely overtop during last 15 to 20 minutes of baking. Remove from oven, set pan on a rack and cool for 15 minutes before turning loaf out onto rack. When completely cool, wrap in foil or plastic wrap. Store at room temperature up to 3 days or freeze.