chocolate bread for charlie

So Happy Birthday dad. Its been a crazy year. Every year on his birthday, my dad requests this cake called chocolate bread. More like a chocolate pound cake, its rich and dark and of course, super buttery. If you can think of a better sounding cake, try me.

This cake, I suspect, is called "Chocolate Bread" because of its loaf like shape. It means that its good for a family on-the-go, a phrase that definitely describes us. Although not very fancy, it does the job in a delicious chocolate cake way. Happy birthday dad! I love you :)

I couldn't get a picture of the final result because it was already in our tummies.

Chocolate Bread
from Rose Levy Beranbaum's the Cake Bible

3 Tablespoons + 1/2 teaspoons cocoa power (good opportunity to use the best you can find)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3 large eggs
1 1/4 cups cake flour
3/4 cups + 2 Tablespoons sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking power
1/4 teaspoon salt
13 Tablespoons of softened butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour one 8x4 loaf pan.

In a medium heat-proof bowl, whisk together cocoa power and 3 Tablespoons boiling water until smooth. Allow to sit until it reaches room temperature and then whisk in eggs and vanilla.

In a large bowl, combine cake flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. If you don't have cake flour, replace 2 tablespoons of all purpose flour with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. Mix well until blended. Add half of the chocolate mixture and then add the butter. Mix until all the ingredients are moistened and then continue mixing for one minute. Add the remaining chocolate mixture in two batches, scraping down the bowl as you go.

Scrape batter into greased and floured pan. Bake for 50-60 minutes. If your oven is shifty or too small like mine, you can loosely place a piece of foil over the top of the cake in the final ten minutes of baking. The cake is done when a skewer is inserted and comes out clean. Do not overbake. Let the cake cool in the pan for ten minutes before flipping it out.