Chocolate Cinnamon Bread

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

50 mins

Total time

1 hour 5 mins

 

A rich chocolate bread with a hint of cinnamon. Topped with a cinnamon sugar crunchy topping.

Serves: Two 9x5 loaves

Ingredients

Chocolate Batter

• 3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature (1½ cups)
• 3 cups granulated sugar
• 5 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1¼ cups Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup buttermilk
• ¼ cup water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cocoa-Spice Sugar Crust

• ¼ cup granulated sugar
• ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• pinch ground cloves
• pinch ground ginger

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line two 9x5-inch loaf pans with parchment paper or foil to cover the bottoms and up the sides with at least a 1-inch overhang.** Spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Cream the butter and sugar together in the bowl of an electric mixer until light and creamy, about 5 minutes. Add in the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.
3. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, salt, baking powder and baking soda. In another bowl or liquid mixing cup, combine the buttermilk, water and vanilla.
4. With the mixer on low, add ⅓ of the dry ingredients, followed by half of the buttermilk mixture, beating just until combined. Add another ⅓ of the dry ingredients, then the remaining buttermilk, followed by the remaining dry ingredients. Divide the mixture between the two prepared loaf pans. Shake the pans back and forth to even the tops, then set aside.
5. In a small bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon, cocoa, ginger and cloves. Sprinkle the mixture evenly over the tops of the batter. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean, 45-55 minutes.
6. Let the bread cool completely before lifting out of the pans.

Notes

*Dutch process cocoa makes a far superior bread in this recipe. Not only will it help so that your bread doesn't sink on top, but the texture and flavor is much better with Dutch process vs regular unsweetened cocoa powder.

**The original recipe had you just line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper. It works much better if you line the bottom and up the sides with a bit of an overhang so that you can easily lift the bread out of the pan without losing the cinnamon sugar topping.

Very slightly adapted from Starbucks.

http://www.tasteandtellblog.com/chocolate-cinnamon-bread/