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While I am enjoying some summer playtime with my family, several of my favorite food bloggers are sharing their talents with you. Today, please welcome Michelle of Brown Eyed Baker. Not only is Michelle a kindred hockey-loving friend, but she comes up with some pretty incredible recipes. If you are looking for an ice cream recipe, I highly recommend that you head to Michelle’s large and innovative list of frozen treats. By the look of this decadent Double Chocolate Loaf, it’s obvious that she is a master of her baking pans. Oh, and this quick bread is spread with a peanut butter cream cheese spread. Oh my, help my waistline!
You can also find Michelle on Twitter and Facebook. And now, let’s hand things over to Michelle.
Back in March when I went on vacation Dara was one of my wonderful food blogging friends who contributed a guest post to the site while I was away, so I of course jumped at the opportunity to do the same for her this week while she’s enjoying some time away with her family. I also wanted to repay another favor. You may remember that the recipe Dara created for the guest post on my site was Smoked Salmon & Potato Wonton Pierogies – a recipe that she shared specifically because it was a fusion of the food cultures in both of our hometowns – Pittsburgh (mine) and hers (Vancouver). Since we are both big-time hockey fans, she also talked about how lovely it would be for us to get together over a Penguins/Canucks game and nosh on the pierogies. Fast forward 4 months… my Penguins lost in the first round of the playoffs, and Dara’s Canucks suffered a Game 7 loss in the Stanley Cup Finals. Losing is definitely more bitter when you can almost taste the sweet victory, and if we lived closer, this bread is what I would have brought over to Dara’s house the morning after the loss to help aid the grieving process.
Back in our teens and twenties, most of girls would wallow over our recent heartache with a girlfriend and everything and anything comfort – pizza and chick flicks, a pint of favorite ice cream, or, as we got older, some adult beverages. Something about those soothing foods that can give you just a little bit of a boost when you’re feeling your worst. And I know that losing the Stanley Cup Finals on your home ice feels like just about the worst thing in the world at the time. This double chocolate loaf is grown-up, foodie comfort food, when it needs to be okay to have chocolate for breakfast.
This loaf is essentially a quick-bread that bakes up into an intensely chocolate-y, moist and decadent breakfast. And as if that wasn’t enough, it’s paired with cream cheese that has been spiked with peanut butter and sugar. A very sophisticated way of eating dessert for breakfast, which I am always all over. Conversely, you could also serve this as dessert, as a chocolate loaf-cake. Just be sure to eat the leftovers for breakfast 
And lastly, Go Canucks! Go Penguins! Here’s hoping we meet in the Finals next June!
From the kitchen Brown Eyed Baker. Recipe adapted from Baked Explorations.
Ingredients
- For the Loaf:
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar
- 1 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1½ teaspoons baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 egg yolk
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 8 ounces dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
- For the Cream Cheese Spread:
- 5 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
Instructions
- For the loaf: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9x5-inch loaf pan; set aside.
- Combine the brown sugar, cocoa, flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix on low speed just to combine.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and egg yolk to blend, then add the buttermilk, oil and vanilla; whisk until combined.
- Turn the mixer to low and slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, mixing just until combined. Stir in the chopped chocolate by hand using a rubber spatula. Give it all a good last stir, making sure to scrap up everything on the bottom and sides and mixing it in.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the loaf cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the Cream Cheese Spread: Using a spoon, mix the cream cheese in a medium bowl until soft and fluffy. Add the peanut butter and stir to completely combine, then add the sugar and stir briskly, until incorporated.
- Store the loaf wrapped tightly with plastic wrap at room temperature; store the cream cheese spread covered with plastic wrap (or in an airtight container) in the refrigerator
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{ 50 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ve been wanting to try this recipe out of the Baked cookbook for awhile now. Everything else I’ve made from their cookbooks has been divine, especially their unique buttercream recipe!
Oh goodness me, that loaf just looks like it has the most perfectly dense but gorgeous texture. Im craving this right now for sure! Definitely getting a big fat save from me, gorgeous
Wonderful guest post! This looks amazing.
Oh mercy! Slice me up a piece of that! It looks killer!
Chocolate, and peanut butter, *and* I can call it breakfast?! Too perfect to be allowed.
Well now…that is my kind of breakfast!!! Love your blog and the Brown Eyed Bakers blog as well.
Holy Crap. I can’t stop staring at the top of that loaf.
I just lost my vision looking at that beautiful thing.
GOOD. GRIEF.
Wow. The color is intense! Love it.
This looks so good and deliciously rich and moist. Love all of the chocolate in it.
Oh how lovely! I still have some peanut butter bread that I made leftover, but I want this now!
Thank you for posting. This looks amazing!
Wow oh wow! You have me shivering in antipication of try your Double-chocolate Loaf!
That is just wickedly awesome.
This looks soooo decadent!
OMG! This looks fantastic and I can see how any sports team loss would easily be made to feel a bit better once you consumed this DELICIOUS bread and spread.
Wow! And I thought muffins were a treat for breakfast! This is amazing!
Oh my goodness! Heavenly!
This looks so amazing! Awesome recipe!
I made this a while back and it was insanely good! Love the photo!
this is my kind of dessert ! love the deep dark rich brown color of the loaf , spread is different and yummy too
What a fabulous recipe. I can just imagine how wonderful that loaf would be for an after school snack. Delicious!
I have to make this soon! Heavenly!
Ohhhh my! This sounds soooo wonderful!!!
Wow – this looks amazing! Once again, my favorite flavor combinations!
I love this cookbook!! The peanut butter cream cheese looks to die for!
Such a great idea to guest post for each other so you can enjoy summer with the kids!
I just love the peanut butter cream cheese spread – both delicious on their own, and probably amazing when put together.
The idea of spreading some creamy goodness on a chocolatey loaf really appeals to me.
Grown up foodie comfort food?? Count me in. You gals watch the hockey & i’ll eat extra cake with PB spread. Lovely guest post Michelle, so fun to see you over here with Dara
I love Michelle’s recipes! I can’t wait to make this chocolate-y goodness. My husband is going to love this!
Boy does the look terrific. I cannot wait to try this out. Delicious.
Wow this looks incredible! I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more perfect recipe! Great Guest Post!
The whole thing looks amazing but i have to say, I just fell in love with the cream cheese and peaut butter frosting
This is amazing! I would eat salad all today just to save calories for a slice of this cake with that frosting! Ohh…that lovely frosting!
Oh my! I can feel my booty spreading just looking at those pictures, but it sounds so delicious!
Oh wow, that is just scrumptious!
Wow. Is dark cocoa powder, dutch processed? My regular cocoa powder is light in color, not dark?
TIA!
Great guest post! I’ve made this recipe before and it is delicious! Thank you for sharing another delightful treat. I hope you had a great Tuesday. I’m looking forward to an evening of good food and baking. Take care and much love.
That is insanely chocolate…yum!
Love Michelle and Brown Eyed Baker!!! When I first saw this, I sighed. In envy. I need this in my life. Guess what I’ll be making later?
Have you baked this in mini loaf pans? I wondered how long to bake if divided into three of the ezfoil 3 x5 pans? I wanted to split it up and give you as gifts.
what substitute can i use for buttermilk?
Surprisingly you can substitute buttermilk with plain yogurt. I do it all the time and it adds significantly more moistness to a recipe than just spiking some milk with lemon juice. It’s also something I always have on hand. I never buy buttermilk!
Can someone please estimate the calories in a slice of this? Just the loaf – not the icing. I made it for our Easter gathering, and usually try to calculate as I cook, but I forgot to do it with this one… Delicious, by the way
I only just came to your site after you posted a comment on Brown Eyed Baker. I was thinking, maybe she’s a Canucks fan. Lo and behold, you are indeed. I was devastated last June and just plain depressed until last night when we finally won one against LA. Until the 2 loss I had been predicting a VAN – PIT final…looks like that would be a miracle now. Oh well, do not give up hope!
Just found your blog on pinterest and got addicted to these pictures of dark chocolate cake!
just came across this on pinterest… if it is 1/4 as good as your sweet potato hash I am in for a wonderful treat!
For the 8 oz of dark chocolate is it regular chocolate or baking chocolate?
Yep. I made this. It was THE BOMB!!! This was so amazing I shared it on my cooking blog so hopefully more people will come and indulge their cellulite!!!
http://thepinningpirate.blogspot.com/2013/03/double-chocolate-loaf-with-peanut.html
do you use natural or dutch process cocoa when you say dark cocoa? it can make quite a difference
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