Sunday, November 18, 2007

(Perfect) Chocolate Cinnamon Cake


I wish I had better pictures that fully showcased how insanely delicious this cake was. It's extremely chocolatey, and while it's made with cocoa powder (which is the reason I think I don't always like chocolate cakes) it tastes like there's real melted chocolate in the batter. The cake is dense, moist and soft - in other words, perfect.

The recipe actually comes from Starbucks' website, but I found it through Baking Bites. Starbucks has only given out a few recipes over the years on their site so I was really excited to try this one. While the recipe is for cinnamon chocolate loaf, you can definitely omit the cinnamon and replace it with something else, or with nothing and just have a yummy chocolate cake! I made it with cinnamon this time but I don't think I would again just because cinnamon and chocolate is not my favourite combination. My only problem with this cake is the sugar crust on top. As you can see from my pictures, there is way too much sugar on top so most of it ends up falling off. Some of the crust forms into hard little pieces/strips. Maybe a light sprinkling of sugar, or icing! Not that this cake even needs icing. (I keep calling it cake but for some reason the original recipe calls it "bread"?)


Chocolate Cinnamon Bread (Cake)
Adapted from Starbucks & Marcus Samuelsson

Chocolate Batter
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cups granulated sugar
5 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1 tbsp 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

Cocoa-Spice Sugar Crust
1/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon Dutch-processed cocoa powder
pinch ground cloves
pinch ground ginger

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease two 9x5x3 inch loaf pans and line the bottom of the pans 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 completely, run a thin knife around the sides to release the breads and remove from pans.

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

I made this cake too and I was baffled by that sugar crust! The minute I cute a slice and shifted the cake, all the sugar fell off. Oh well. The cake was really good, but a little dry after two days.

kickpleat said...

i downloaded the pdf from the link i found on baking bites too, but then in a desktop clean-up, it ended up in the garbage. glad you made it and liked it and i think i will too...just with a less sugary top! yum.

Deborah said...

I printed off this recipe after seeing it on Baking Bites, but have not made it yet. I'm glad to hear that it is good!

Anonymous said...

Oh, I saw this exact cake when it was first posted on Baking Bites and had been meaning to veganize it... Looks really good! If I do ever get around to it, I'll be sure to back down on the sugar topping though.

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

Chocolate-Cinnamon Cake? Sounds like perfection to me (well, maybe with carob it'd be complete perfection, haha)!! Don't worry, your photos do the sweetbread justice :0)

Amy said...

Mmmm this sounds amazingly yummy. Going on my list of things to make for sure!

Cakespy said...

This looks so much nicer than the ever so slightly tired version that I saw in my local starbucks. I like the idea of the sugar crust, but agree it looks tough!

Peabody said...

Looks good. I love how the top looks.

Katie Zeller said...

Sounds delicious - but I'd probably leave out the cinnamon, too. I like my chocolate to be unadulterated..hahaha
I would call this a quick bread or 'tea bread'.

Jessica "Su Good Sweets" said...

Yum, I never would have thought of going to Starbucks for recipes. That's a lot of butter, though!

Patricia Scarpin said...

I am gonna to bake this soon! I think I can do it tomorrow... ;)

Anonymous said...

I had no idea that Starbucks shares recipes. This looks amazing...I love dense chocolate cake!

Megan said...

Bread is good but this looks to die for. This is bookmarked and so are you!

eatme_delicious said...

amanda: Yea the sugar crust was very weird. Maybe it would've been better if I had used half decorating/coarse sugar - not sure what you used.

kickpleat: Hope you do like it. :)

deborah: It's very good!

hannah: I wonder how it would turn out veganized. I'd definitely like to try that.

veggiegirl: Aw thanks. :)

vegetation: Hope you like it!

cakespy: Yea I think a little bit of a sugar crust would be okay but definitely not this strange version of one.

peabody: Thanks!

katiez: I like the sound of tea bread. :)

jessica: Yea it is a lot of butter but it's so good!

patricia: Hope you like it. :)

kristen: Yea only a select few. Usually when paired with a celebrity or big chef.

megan: Aw thanks. :)

Anonymous said...

this looks sooo good, i need to try this, i want some now! lol

AdamWalker12 said...

This is an excellent recipe. Has anyone ever tried using carob in place of chocolate for a healthier alternative?

Anonymous said...

I have not made this cake yet, but can't wait to.

About the sugar problem: You could try using a dark brown sugar. The thick molasses texture would melt enough to hold it's place, and tastes great with cinnamon! :)

Unknown said...

i'm from ireland && we don't use th same types of measurements.....roughly how much butter should i use?

eatme_delicious said...

stephanie: This website (http://www.traditionaloven.com/conversions_of_measures/butter_converter.html) is really helpful for converting butter measurements! =)