Baby, Ginger, Sporty, Scary, and Posh

I found a recipe for a Starbucks-inspired Chocolate Cinnamon Bread a long time ago and saved it to my computer. Unfortunately, I didn't keep track of the original website, so I can't properly give credit; however, I did find a number of sites with the exact same recipe as the one I received, and I think this one is the most likely candidate for being the source.



I tend to add at least a little bit of cinnamon to just about everything I bake, so the idea of chocolate and cinnamon combined into a dense, moist quickbread with a crispy sugar-spice topping is pretty exciting to me.



As I said before, I've had this recipe for almost a year and have hesitated to use it; possibly because it takes so much butter and butter is getting more expensive each week. The point is, my finals today were postponed until Thursday and I baked all day long, eventually getting around to this recipe.



I am so happy we had frigid weather; otherwise, it might've taken me another year to taste the thick, warm, chocolate deliciousness that is involved with eating this bread. The bread is soft and moist while the crust is sweet and crunchy; the loaves don't rise as much as my other quick breads, but the actual texture is dense and compact, and you definitely get as much bang for your buck as you would with, say, banana bread. I cannot honestly recommend any quick bread more than this one. Bake this!


Chocolate Cinnamon Bread
Makes 2 nine-inch loaves

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
5 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 cup granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves or allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 9-inch loaf pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.

Make the chocolate batter: in the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter and sugar with the paddle attachment on medium speed, until light and creamy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until each egg is completely incorporated before adding the next and scraping down the sides of the bowl several times.

Meanwhile in a medium bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. In another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, water and vanilla. With mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture to butter, beginning and ending with the flour and beating just until blended. Divide the batter between the two pans; shake the pans to even the tops and set aside.

Make the cocoa-spice sugar crust: In another bowl, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon, cocoa, ginger, and cloves. Sprinkle the surfaces of both batters with the cocoa sugar mixture, dividing evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45 to 50 minutes. Let cool complete, run a thin knife around the sides to release the breads, and remove the loaves from the pans. This is the hardest part: half of your crispy sugar topping will fall off. I don't yet know how to remedy this.