Dark Chocolate Loaf Cake Recipe

This dark chocolate loaf cake can be served whole or fancied up into a layered cake with your favorite fillings.

Ingredients

Dark Chocolate Loaf
1 cup dark chocolate chocolate chips
3/4 cup butter
1 3/4 cups brewed coffee
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Vanilla Buttercream
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, at room temperature
3-4 cups confectioners' sugar, SIFTED
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
2 to 4 tablespoons milk or heavy cream
(Makes 2 1/2 cups frosting)

Makes 2 loaves

Directions

Dark Chocolate Loaf

Preheat oven to 275 degrees F.

Grease 2 loaf pans with oil.

In a small pot melt chocolate and butter whisking until smooth. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes. Add in eggs and vanilla and whisk until fully incorporated. Set aside

In a separate bowl whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. Add dry mixture to wet mixture and mix till well incorporated.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pans and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean, set to cool. Once cool enough to touch turn loaves out of pans and let cool completely on a wire rack.

Vanilla Buttercream

In a mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat butter for a few minutes on medium speed.

Add 3 cups of confectioners' sugar and beat on low speed until the sugar is incorporated into the butter.

Increase mixer speed to medium and add the pure vanilla extract, salt, and 2 tablespoons of milk/cream and beat for 3 minutes.

If your frosting needs a more stiff consistency, add the remaining confectioners' sugar. If your frosting needs to be thinned out, add remaining milk 1 tablespoons at a time.

Buttercream icings are so easy to work with because you can add more or less of the confectioners' sugar and milk and get to that perfect consistency.

Assembly

Cut cooled loaf in halfway lengthways. Pipe buttercream in two lines in middle of loaf. Pipe strawberry jam in between the lines of icing. Place top half of loaf on top and pipe another line of buttercream on top.