There’s an amazing Chocolate Cinnamon Bread Loaf at Starbuck’s. It’s the perfect blend of rich chocolate and cinnamon with a crunch sugary topping. It’s just shy of amazing.
Of course I went home and immediately tried to find a way I could recreate my new favorite sweet. Thanks to the speed and accuracy of the internet search, I was able to locate a similar recipe within mere seconds over at the Taste and Tell blog. And, lucky for me, I had all the ingredients on hand— except for buttermilk (which can easily be found at any local market).
This recipe became my Sunday afternoon baking project with the kids. It was a rainy, cold day so the idea of baking something that would fill our apartment with the sweet and comforting aromas of chocolate and cinnamon seemed ideal.
As always, we had a blast using the electric mixer. The kids split turns conquering parts of the recipes— my son made the topping, my daughter worked the mixer– and we all liked the spoons and bowl afterwards.
All went smoothly and we felt very accomplished loading up the oven with our loaf pans.
Ten minutes into baking, I realized I committed a faux pas—I didn’t pay much attention to the bottom of the recipe were the author recommends using Dutch processed cocoa in lieu of regular cocoa to help avoid cake sinkage in its center.
Of course I used the cocoa we had on hand and we witnessed a total disaster when the bread was baking. Not only did the cake sink, it bubbled over the side of the pan beforehand, making a complete science experiment out of the oven. While we were definitely bummed that our finished product wasn’t the perfectly-baked Chocolate Cinnamon Loaf we had all imagined, it was still amazing to eat— especially with the crunchy cinnamon sugar topping.
Lesson learned—don’t forget to read a recipe from beginning to end understanding all the steps involved.
Regardless of how it looked, it tasted divine.
Hope you enjoy as much as we did…
Chocolate Cinnamon Bread
from Taste and Tell Blog
Makes 2 9×5 loaf pans
- 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
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon Dutch-processed cocoa powder
- pinch ground cloves
- pinch ground ginger
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line two 9×5-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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- Let the bread cool completely before lifting out of the pans.
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