Easy Chocolate Loaf Cake - Happy Chocolate Cake Day

Seriously, after reading this, you will bow to my awesomeness.  I feel like a total Goob (Meet the Robinsons reference there - prepare to be amazed! (no, not really)...

So.  If you've been following me on Twitter lately, you know that Kayla has been sick, basically on and off since September. Nothing new there. Not even surprising really, what with Down syndrome, congenital heart disease, high blood pressure and on oxygen for almost a year to contend with.

Anyway, yesterday things took a turn for the worse.  Actually, they went downhill a few days ago, but yesterday it was official.  Kayla has RSV.  To be honest, I'm surprised we've been able to dodge that bullet this long.  She is doing ok, but the doc warns me to expect it to get worse before it gets better.

Now, back to my awesomeness (and yes, you should detect a heavy amount of sarcasm here).

Today is chocolate cake day!  Happy chocolate cake day!  I've been waiting, and waiting and waiting for this day because, seriously, chocolate cake is one of the major food groups of my diet.  No joke.

I wanted to make something smallish and easy so that I could have chocolate cake any old time I wanted.   And, I did!  It's this chocolate loaf cake you see all these pretty pictures of.

In my awesomeness though, I can't for the life of my find the piece of *&#(@%%*)# paper I wrote the recipe and directions on!  Awesome, right?!  I made it a couple of weeks ago... do you know how far in a madhouse like mine a piece of paper can migrate in that amount of time? Really, it's like there are little sprites that wander around and move things.  

Oh wait.

I forgot. Those are my kids. Hmm.

The fact that I can't get my hands on that paper right now really stinks actually, because this little loaf cake, in all its unassuming, moist, chocolatey goodness, deserves its day in the sun.  You could frost it, but it doesn't even need it.  Just a dusting of cocoa and some whipped cream were all I needed.  Oh, but it you added some chocolate sauce or better yet hot fudge and ice cream, well, you'd have quite the little dessert on your hands.

So, I promise that very soon I will track down that paper, and get that on here.  In the meantime, I plead **temporary** insanity and hope you'll bear with me.


UPDATE:  RECIPE BELOW!! 

Chocolate Loaf Cake

Printable Version

INGREDIENTS:

3.5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, cut into pieces

3/4 cup cold water or coffee

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon white vinegar

1 large egg

1 cup all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch cocoa powder

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.

Butter and lightly flour the inside of an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 –inch loaf pan on all sides.  For easy removal you can line the pan with a piece of parchment as a sling up and over the sides (the ends of the pan won’t be covered, just the long sides). Butter and flour the parchment if you are using it. Set aside.

Whisk together the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.

Place the chocolate and butter in a large microwave-safe bowl.  Carefully heat the mixture just until the butter is mostly melted, about 1 minute.  Gently whisk the mixture together to finish melting the chocolate.  Whisk in the water or coffee, vanilla, vinegar and the egg until smooth.

Add the dry ingredients to the chocolate mixture and whisk together until smooth.  Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan.  Bake the loaf for 50 to 55 minutes, or until a wooden skewer comes out clean.  Allow the cake to cool on a rack in the pan for 10 minutes, then turn the cake out onto the rack to finish cooling. Cool completely before slicing.

Serve the cake slices with whipped cream and a dusting of cocoa powder or confectioners’ sugar.