Everyday Chocolate Cake

The very moment I spied this chocolate loaf cake on Smitten Kitchen, I knew I had to make it, but I wanted to take it over the top. Deb reworked the recipe to make a one bowl recipe and added weights so you can measure the ingredients into the mixing bowl. To take this over the top, I made two changes: I added a teaspoon of espresso powder to amp up the chocolate flavor, and to eliminate any confusion that this was a chocolate loaf cake, I added a cup of chocolate chips.  I also doubled the recipe to make two loaves as I was taking it to work.

This was a terrific, easy weekday recipe. I made it before work and as it bakes for about an hour, I had plenty of time to get ready for work while it was in the oven. You'll probably be tempted, as I was, to slice off a piece before it finishes cooling. That's OK; what could be finer than warm chocolate bread, oozing melty chocolate chips? How about chewy chocolate bread with the oozy chips slightly chewier but not hard.

Consider this recipe a base for whatever mix-ins you like, such as nuts, toffee chips, cocoa nibs, or white chocolate chips. Or enjoy it without the chocolate chips for a more buttoned-down chocolate experience. Either way, you'll be in love.

Everyday Chocolate Cake (adapted from Magnolia Bakery by Deb at Smitten Kitchen)
Printable recipe

1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon espresso powder

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1 cup/237 grams/8 3/8 ounces firmly packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup/100 grams/4 ounces granulated sugar

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups/190 grams/6 3/4 ounces all-purpose flour

3/4 cup/75 grams/2 5/8 ounces Dutch cocoa powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup/170 grams/6 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Butter and lightly flour a 9×5 inch loaf pan. Stir the espresso powder into the buttermilk until no lumps remain and set aside. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugars and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the egg and beat well, then the buttermilk and vanilla. Don’t worry if the batter looks a little uneven. Sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt together right into your wet ingredients. Stir together with a spoon until well-blended but do not overmix. Scrape down the batter in the bowl, add the chocolate chips and stir in, making sure the ingredients are well blended.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool in pan on a rack for about 10 to 15 minutes, at which point you can cool it the rest of the way out of the pan.

*******PLEASE NOTE: Lethally Delicious is on hiatus for the month of Ramadan. I will be responding to comments but not keeping up with my Google Reader or visiting bloggers other than those who leave comments. I'll be back around Sept. 10th with a spirit refreshed by this blessed month of fasting and prayer. Peace.