Chocolate Loaf Cake

You are going to have to trust me that this cake is good. I tried my best to get a good picture with my digital camera, but it just doesn't cut it. Thank goodness mom lets me borrow her canon for the rest of my pics...The ones below were taken by some good friends for Emory's 1 year shoot. I may be biased, but I think he is the most handsome boy ever!

I have this obsession with chocolate, something I have had since I can remember. Growing up in Northern California, we spent a lot of evenings on the beach, evenings that were always accompanied by a good ol' fashioned s'more. I will blame this on my chocolate obsession. As I got older, and started baking with all realms of chocolate (who knew there were so many types of chocolate out there..) I have found a love for rich chocolate flavors. Don't get me wrong, I still have to have a s'more (made with none other than hershey's chocolate bar) every we have a fire, but I can no longer snack on a candy bar (unless it is dove) and consider it "chocolate". It lacks that rich velvety chocolate essence that I crave.

So needless to say this chocolate loaf cake is beyond any other chocolate treat I have ever made. The funny thing about it is its simplicity. Me and Brittany (my little sister) were making this last week expecting it to be average (we needed an excuse to bake), and we were completely blown away with the depth it held. So blown away we ate the entire thing (with a few helpers) in one day. Yes one day. I tweaked this recipe a lot, but it turned out perfect.

The original recipe called for bittersweet chocolate which I didn't have on hand so I went ahead and used semi-sweet chocolate chips. I am sure the more expensive you go on the chocolate the better it will taste, but there were obviously no complaints with my use of nestle chips. The recipe called for a brown sugar to be crumbled on top and ten broiled to create a crust. When we did this we found it to be way to crunchy, and too sweet. We picked it off, and instead made a brown sugar caramel and liberally drizzled it on top. It was much better. Personally, I think this loaf cake is perfect without the caramel, but if you want to take it a bit further, go ahead and make the drizzle.

Chocolate Loaf Cake

This cake is so incredibly easy to make, and it is by far the most moist cake I have every tried. 

Adapted from 101cookbooks

Chocolate Loaf Cake

1 1/4 all purpose flour


1 teaspoon baking soda


½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt


1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

1 cup unsalted butter,at room temp

1 2/3 cups loosely packed brown sugar

2 large eggs, beaten


2 teaspoons vanilla extract


4 oz (1/2 cup) semisweet chocolate, barely melted


1 cup plus 2 tablespoons boiling water


For Brown Sugar glaze:

¼ cup Brown Sugar

¼ cup Heavy Cream

2 Tablespoons of butter

pinch of salt

For the Loaf:

Preheat oven to 375F with a rack in the center. Butter a 9x5-inch (23 x 13-cm) loaf pan and line with parchment paper. You have to line the pan if you ever want to get this cake out of it.

Combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cocoa powder, and salt in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Cream the butter until light and feathery, either with a wooden spoon or with an electric mixer. Beat in the sugar. Then add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl a couple times along the way. Add the vanilla, then fold in the melted (and now slightly cooled) chocolate, stirring until just barely combined. Now stir in 1/3 of the flour mixture, then 1/3 of the water, alternating until all the flour and water has been incorporated into what seems like an impossibly thing batter. Go with it. Pour into the prepared pan, place on a rimmed baking sheet (just in case there's an overflow), and bake for 30 minutes. Turn the oven down to 325F and continue to cook for another 18-19 minutes. The cake isn't going to test done like other cakes, but as long as your oven temp is accurate, you should be fine. Place the loaf pan on a rack, let cool completely, and enjoy the next day.

For the Glaze:

In a saucepan on medium heat, melt the butter. Add the sugar and whisk for about 1 minute. Add salt and cream, bring to a boil over medium heat and continue cooking for 2 additional minutes. Take off heat and cool for 15-20 minutes before pouring over your cooled loaf.

Makes 8 - 10 slices.