Chocolate Loaf Cake
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With a soft, fudgy crumb and three kinds of chocolate, this loaf cake is pure chocolate comfort. It’s the kind of treat you’ll be glad to have on the counter whenever a craving hits.
An everyday chocolate loaf cake seems easy enough to bake but, in cooking, the simplest things are often the hardest to get right. The challenge is that most chocolate cakes get their chocolate flavor solely from cocoa powder. This works well in a layer cake when you have a thick chocolate buttercream to add richness and flavor, but in a naked loaf cake, cocoa powder alone leaves you wanting.
This chocolate loaf cake recipe from Ina Garten’s latest cookbook, Cook Like a Pro: Recipes & Tips for Home Cooks (Clarkson Potter, 2018), calls not just for cocoa powder, but also bittersweet chocolate and chocolate chips. The result is a luscious snack cake that tastes as rich and chocolaty as a brownie and needs absolutely no frosting.
“My family is in heaven, saying it is “fancy bakery quality!””
What you’ll need To Make Ina Garten’s Chocolate Loaf Cake
- Bittersweet chocolate, cocoa powder, coffee granules & chocolate chips: These ingredients work together to build deep, layered chocolate flavor.
- All-purpose flour, baking powder & salt: The dry base of the cake—flour provides structure, baking powder gives it lift, and salt balances the sweetness and rounds out the flavor.
- Unsalted butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, large eggs & vanilla extract: This combination creates the moist, tender crumb—creamed butter and sugars add richness and sweetness, eggs bind the batter and add structure, and vanilla rounds out the flavor.
- Jump to the printable recipe for precise measurements
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1. Start the chocolate mixture. Pour the boiling water into a 2-cup glass measuring cup. Add the bittersweet chocolate, cocoa powder, and coffee granules, and stir until the chocolate melts. Set aside to cool.
Step 2. Mix the dry ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk together 2 cups of the flour with the baking powder and salt. Set aside.
Step 3. Toss the chips. In a small bowl, toss the chocolate chips with the remaining 2 tablespoons of flour. This helps keep them from sinking during baking. Set aside.
Step 4. Cream the butter and sugars. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Pro Tip: Make sure the butter is room temperature. It should be soft enough to press a finger in easily, but still hold its shape. This ensures proper creaming with the sugars.
Step 5. Add the eggs and vanilla. With the mixer on low, add the eggs one at a time, mixing just until incorporated. Adding the eggs one at a time helps them incorporate smoothly into the batter and doesn’t break the emulsion. Add the vanilla and mix briefly to combine.
Step 6. Alternate the dry and wet ingredients. Add the flour mixture and the chocolate mixture in thirds, alternating between the two and beginning and ending with the flour.
Step 7. Finish the batter. Fold in the chocolate chips with a rubber spatula, mixing until evenly distributed, then divide the batter equally between the prepared pans and smooth the tops.
Step 8. Bake. Bake in a 350°F oven for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 15 minutes, then turn out on a wire rack to cool completely. When ready to serve, use a serrated knife for clean slices. The cakes will stay fresh for 2 to 3 days; freeze for longer storage.
More chocolate Cake Recipes You May Like
Chocolate Loaf Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup boiling water
- 5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, best quality best quality such as Ghirardelli
- 2 tablespoons natural unsweetened cocoa powder, such as Hershey's
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules, such as Nescafé
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off, divided
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, best quality such as Ghirardelli
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
- 3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C) and set an oven rack in the middle position. Grease two 8 x 4-in (20 x 10-cm) loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray with flour, such as Baker's Joy or Pam with Flour.
- Pour the boiling water into a 2-cup (480-ml) glass measuring cup, add the bittersweet chocolate, cocoa powder, and coffee granules, and stir until the chocolate melts. Set aside to cool for at least 15 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the 2 cups flour, the baking powder, and salt and set aside. In another bowl, toss the chocolate chips with the remaining 2 tablespoons flour and set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or beaters, beat the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar together on medium speed for 2 minutes. With the mixer on low, add the eggs, one at a time, and then the vanilla, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula. The mixture may look at little curdled at this point; that's okay. Alternately in thirds, add the flour mixture and the chocolate mixture, beginning and ending with the flour. (Don't worry if there are a few bits of unmelted chocolate in the chocolate mixture.) Fold in the chocolate chips with a rubber spatula. Divide the batter equally between the prepared pans, smooth the tops, and bake for 45 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. (Test in a few places because you might hit a warm chocolate chip.) Cool in the pans for 15 minutes, turn out on a cooling rack, rounded side up, and allow to cool to room temperature. Slice with a serrated knife.
Notes
Nutrition Information
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Happy Valentine’s Day 💖 Everyone!!!
I made this loaf cake this morning to serve after dinner tonight. Forgot the instant coffee but honestly, I can’t imagine this being better than it already is without it. Good thing it makes 2 loaves because it’s disappearing fast…Two Thumbs up!!
Hi Jenn!
I made your Triple Chocolate Loaf Cake last nite. I followed the instructions to the tee. However, for some reason when I sliced it is was crumbly and falling apart. I am very careful about not over cooking it. I’m thinking it needed more liquid.
Any hints?
Thanks!
Sara D
Hi Sara, Did you let the cake cool before slicing? It’s definitely harder to slice when warm. I find that a serrated knife helps to prevent crumbling. I’m curious if you found the cake to be dry or just crumbly? I’ve made it several times and always found it to be moist.
Jenn…I let the cake cool over night. It was a bit dry and crumbly. Sara D
Hi Jenn, I tried this recipe tonight. My batter looked just like your photos. I used fresh ingredients and followed the recipe exactly. The kitchen smelled amazing during the baking. After 45 minutes of baking time the tester came out clean and I removed the loaves from the oven. Unfortunately, the rise on each one was only about an inch and looked nothing like what a loaf cake should resemble. They were also dry. I am unsure what could have gone wrong as I measured carefully and the oven was set correctly. Do you have any ideas what might have gone wrong? Thanks.
Hi Faye, Are your pans 8 x 4-in or 8.5 x 4.5-in? As you can see here, Ina uses 8.5 x 4.5 x 2.5-in pans so her cakes in the book are a little shorter than mine. I’m not sure what could be causing the dryness; I’ve made these several times and they’ve always been very moist. Are you using the spoon and level method for measuring the flour?
A great alternative to making a cake! We wasted no time in trying this recipe and it was VERY good! The texture and flavor were excellent. My husband felt it was a tiny bit dry and would benefit from some ice cream or berries or whipped cream. We used Espresso powder instead of instant coffee. Not sure if that made a different or not. I will definitely make this again. It would also be a great hostess gift baked in small loaf pans.
I just made this and it was sooo dry. I did use smaller pans that I coated w/oil and sugar. The cake stuck to my non stick pans but not to my alumium throw away pans but it was still dry. I shortened the baking time (30 min) and I aways season my cake pans w/sugar & oil. Your pictures look like your cakes are dry also. I am a retired chef and followed the recipe to the T.
Hi Jen,
Do you think I can make mini muffins with this batter. If so, what temperature would you recommend and how long should I be baking?
Thanks, Jo
Hi Jo, Mini muffins should work here. I’d keep the oven temp the same and start checking them at 12 – 15 minutes. Please let me know how they turn out if you try them!
I am wondering how this might work as a bundt? Thoughts? Thanks!
I’ve tried it, Sara, and it turned out beautifully. Cook time is about the same.
In baking I like my recipes in ounces or grams and you, I do believe, show some recipes by weight. Why not all? Thank you for all your recipes they are GREAT! I’m going to try this recipe and then I’ll rate it.
Hi Thomas, Most of my recipes (especially the newer ones) have metric measurements. If you look in the top right corner of the recipe, there’s a button that allows you to toggle between metric and cup measures. If you find a recipe without metric, feel free to email me and I’ll update it ASAP. 🙂
This sounds yummy. Is bittersweet chocolate the same as “unsweetened?”
Hi Linda, It is not the same – bittersweet chocolate is about 60% cacao while unsweetened is 100%. Hope that helps!
Hi – For dairy free what would be the best substitute for the butter? Or would it alter the taste so much so that I shouldn’t do?
Thanks,
Lauren
Hi Lauren, Although I haven’t tried it, I think you could get away with using coconut oil here. Keep in mind that it may give the bread a bit of a coconutty flavor, though. I’d love to hear how it turns out if you try it!