A simple chocolate loaf cake that is a cinch to bake up – and you’ll love that it is still wholesome enough to have as a special breakfast!
I always find it difficult to get too excited about breakfast. I usually make a smoothie. Which is fine. They’re delicious and I feel great about myself having them. Sometimes, however, I want to have something a little different. Maybe something that isn’t *so* healthy. But still good enough that I am not wrecked with guilt the rest of the day. Insert this kinda healthy and totally delicious chocolate loaf cake I found from the Fall/Winter Simple Fare cookbook by Karen Mordechai.
What I love about this recipe.
This chocolate loaf cake is actually vegan! I’m not vegan, but I think that’s a very big plus. I love butter, but the use of coconut oil appeals to be in a way that using vegetable oil just couldn’t. There is a balance of coffee and chocolate that is very moreish and had me coming back for slice after slice. I don’t want to call anyone out, but I gave a family member half a loaf of this chocolate loaf cake and she ate the whole thing in a day. By herself. And not only did she not realize that she did that while it was happening, she went all ragey claiming someone stole pieces and demanded I make another one for her.
That’s right. It’s so good, it makes people ragey.
Not that I want you to get all ragey over a chocolate loaf cake. My best advice? Bake up two. Heck. maybe even three.
I ate mine with a nice dollop of creme fraiche as is recommended in the cookbook and it manages to make an incredible recipe that much more amazing. You can also toast up slices (although its my personal recommendation to enjoy how melt-in-your-mouth moist the cake is first) and slather with butter and spices. I don’t often find myself literally dreaming about things I make, but believe you me, I was dreaming about this.
Chocolate Loaf Cake
A rich, moist chocolate loaf cake that is healthy enough for breakfast!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup natural cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar*
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted**
- 1/4 cup espresso, room temperature***
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the coconut oil, espresso, vanilla, vinegar, and water until well combined.
- Stir in the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
- Pour the batter into the baking pan and bake for 50 - 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Notes
*I actually reduced the amount of sugar to just 1 cup with great success
**You can use canola, vegetable oil, or any neutral-flavored oil
***Leftover coffee also works!
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
12 slicesServing Size:
1 sliceAmount Per Serving: Calories: 199Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 195mgCarbohydrates: 34gFiber: 1gSugar: 21gProtein: 2g
Wallie says
What can I use instead of the coconut oil? We don’t like coconut in any form.
Amanda says
Any neutral flavored oil will work!
Lu Simons says
no egg??
Amanda says
Nope, no eggs!
Barbarac says
Can you make this into a cake roll?
Amanda says
I’ve never tried this before, so I honestly cannot say. If you do try it, please let me know!
Nuzhat says
Is there any alternative of vinegar? I just have lemon now, can I use it instead?
Amanda says
Yes, that should work, any acid should be fine!
Purvi says
I tried making this today, while it tastes delicious, it turned out a bit chewy on the inside, not as airy as yours looks. I did substitute coconut oil with another non-flavored one as per your comments above. Could I have done something wrong?
Amanda Powell says
When you say it was chewy, was it also sort of really dense and maybe a little doughy? That might mean it was a tad underbaked. If it was more tough and chewy, it could mean that it was overmixed after you added the flour. The change in oil shouldn’t have an affect on the end texture
Purvi says
It was more on the dense and chewy side.. but it didn’t look underbaked at all with the perfect top crust and the toothpick coming out completely clean.. I guess I’ll have to give it another try soon! The recipe is great and super quick, will definitely give it another shot:)
Amanda Powell says
It isn’t an original recipe from me, so I will check the cookbook it’s from to see if there’s any tips I can find for you!
Amy says
Wow! I just made this and it’s delicious. Do you have nutritional info for this cake, including calories? I want to know the damage when I inevitably eat the entire thing in a day, whoops!
Amanda Powell says
Hi Amy, I don’t have it on-hand, but with the new recipe card I am using, I can quickly put an estimation up! Just keep in mind that it is only a proximation because exact numbers will depend on the brands of the ingredients you use! Just give me a few minutes and I’ll have it up!
Amy says
I see it now, thanks very much!
Chiara says
Hey so excited to try this out! We love vegan chocolate cake so I wanna give this a shot… is the espresso necessary though?
Amanda Powell says
It really helps bring out the flavor of the chocolate. You can use decaf coffee if you’d like. Chocolate extract works well too. Of course, you can also always just omit entirely 🙂
Katie says
Really easy recipe, I loved it.
I found the mixture very runny before baking but I thought maybe it was because it vegan that it would be different to a normal mixture, but do you think it’s should be runny?
Also I found the loaf after baking a little rubbery, is there anything I can do to help this?
Thanks
Amanda Powell says
Hey! I do remember my batter was a little more liquid than making a regular chocolate cake, but the loaf was definitely not rubbery. Was the texture also really dense for you?
Katie says
No it wasn’t dense, it was quite airy and the moisture was great but it just didn’t feel like a cake should. I felt it should have crumbled a little more?
Amanda Powell says
So I consulted a few vegan baking experts and we have a compiled a few notes… First, are you using gluten-free flour by any chance? That can affect the end texture. Second, over mixing can create too many gluten strands forming and binding which can make everything stick together. Last, if the batter was very, very watery, there may have been an issue with ingredient ratios (did you know moisture in the air that we barely notice may add more hydration to your flour and require less liquid in your batter?) – this means using less water might help.
emmi says
how do you prepare the coffee? like how much coffee to water?
Amanda Powell says
I usually make it like any standard cup of coffee. If you are using instant espresso, you can use a heaping teaspoon for about 8oz. There should be instructions on your container about the right ratio! If in doubt, you can use 1/4 cup of water (to keep the liquid to flour ratio) with coffee extract!
Joo says
Such an easy recipe and the cake came out perfect! I was wondering if i wanted to make it in a round 8 inch pan, how long should i bake it for?
Thanks!
Amanda Powell says
Hi Joo! I am not sure, I’ve never baked it that way before! I would be cautious and start checking after about 15 minutes using the toothpick method
Kitty Yeung Downer says
It’s moist and lovely. Thank you for the recipe.
I did reduce the sugar to 1 cup and added in Chocolate chips and walnuts. I guess everything was so liquid like so there walnuts pieces were all floating on the top! It’s was very good though. Will make it again.
Kitty Yeung Downer says
I also added in walnuts which I forgot to mention in the previous comment. 😉
Mrs H says
I’ve made this weekly for the past 6 because it’s amazing and my family love it! I’ve baked for a long time in a conventional way (non-vegan) and now having switched I can honestly say this cake is wonderful and keeps beautifully. Thanks for the recipe!
Amanda Powell says
Mrs H, you have no idea how much your kind words mean to me today. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experiences with the recipe!!
JP says
Just wanted to highlight that we should use natural cocoa powder and not Dutch processed (I think). Thanks for sharing this recipe! Trying a second batch right now!
Kera Gibbs says
WOW !!!! I have been stuck at home with the recent stay at home order and have been going stir crazy. I made this loaf for my partner and her co-worker. OMG. It’s essentially the most delicious moist chocolate loaf ever. I took out just a bit more sugar, added choco chunks and a few tablespoons of raspberry preserves. I subbed out vanilla for almond extract. INCREDIBLE.
Amanda Powell says
The addition of raspberry sounds amazing. I will need to try that myself!!