OK, that might be an exaggeration. A very slight exaggeration.
Because this cake recipe rocks. I have been making it for about 20 years. It has never failed me. It’s just one of those recipes.
It’s not in the same league as our Cottage Cake. That is a once-a-year recipe that is perfect for our break-the-rules cottage breakfasts. This coffee cake is for the other 350 days of the year, where we want a delicious loaf cake laced with chunks of chocolate and topped with a crunchy streusel topping. What more could you ask for in a coffee cake recipe?
Why are there 4 cakes in this pic? That’s what I took to my parent’s cottage recently – 2 to feed the crowd, and 2 to freeze for later. You can never have too much coffee cake with a crowd of Italians around. For loaf cakes, I always double the recipe to make 2. This time, I got a little ambitious and made 2 batches, doubling each. Because 4 cakes is better than 2, don’t you think?
Here’s the recipe, adapted from The Moosewood Restaurant Book Of Desserts, a staple in my kitchen.
Chocolate Swirled Bread
makes 2 loaf cakes
4 eggs
10 oz semi-sweet chocolate (or 1 ½ cup chocolate chips)
1 1/3 cup buttermilk (or milk mixed with juice of ½ lemon)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 cups unbleached white flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
Streusel:
2 tbsps unbleached white flour
2 tbsps butter
3 tbsps sugar
Preheat the oven to 350. Butter 2 9×5-in loaf pans and dust them with flour.
Separate one of the eggs, placing the yolk in a large bowl and the white in a smaller bowl. If using baking chocolate, break the chocolate into pieces and place into a zip lock bag. Break the chocolate into small chunks with a meat mallet. Mix with the egg white and set aside. To the egg yolk, add the remaining eggs, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla and beat about a minute, until well blended. Stir together the dry ingredients and set aside.
Using a pastry blender or a fork, combine the streusel ingredients until crumbly but not too finely textured.
Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix until just blended. Add the chocolate, folding or swirling it into the batter with a rubber spatula – don’t over mix.
Pour the batter into the loaf pans and top with the streusel. Bake for about 1 hour, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the cakes to cool before removing them from the pans.
Optional: Add 1/4 tsp cinnamon each to the dry ingredients and to the streusel topping, for a nice cinnamon taste.
Looking for another great loaf cake recipe? Check out Nad’s Best Ever Gluten-Free Sugar-Free Banana Bread.