Can you tell I have been in a baking mood these days? The thing is, I just don’t like buying treats at the store – they are so filled with yuck that I don’t enjoy them as much. And with my darned sweet tooth, I like to have a little something sweet every day (everything in moderation is a big motto in this house!). On top of that, having a son with a nut allergy makes it even more challenging to find cookies or baked goods that are safe. Soooo that all adds up to me doing a lot of baking.

This recipe is one I based off of other recipes that I saw online, after watching Paula Deen make chocolate bread that looked amazing – but it was loaded with fat. So, purely driven by a craving, I set out to find something I could make without feeling too guilty.  This is a nut-free, and low-fat quick bread that could easily be tweaked (per my notes) to be a dairy-free treat as well. And I’m sure those of you that are challenged with baking without eggs and without gluten could easily adapt this recipe as well.  But most of all, it’s just plain YUMMY!

Chocolate Bread

1/4 cup canola oil
1/4-1/3 cup applesauce (I confess I wasn’t meticulous about measuring – I’m thinking closer to 1/3)
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
3/4 cup white whole wheat flour
3/4 cup unbleached flour
1/2 cup cocoa (unsweetened)
1 teaspoon espresso powder (totally optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt (I use kosher – less sodium)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk (OR 1 cup milk mixed with either 1 tablespoon white vinegar or 1 tablespoon lemon juice OR 1 cup soy milk with the vinegar or lemon juice)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Prepare a 9×5 loaf pan by spraying with cooking oil spray
3. In a mixing bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the oil, applesauce and sugar. Beat well.
4. Add eggs one at a time – beating well after each addition.
5. Combine dry ingredients in a bowl (flours, cocoa, espresso powder -if using, salt, baking soda, baking powder).
6. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk to the oil/sugar/egg mixture, beating well after each, and scraping the bowl a few times.
7. Pour into the prepared loaf pan.
8. Bake for about 1 hour (depending on your oven) until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
9. Let rest in the pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack to cool (of course, I skipped the cooling step and dove right in, but patience is not one of my virtues, especially when it comes to baked goods…)

This is a quick treat to make, and was inhaled by my kids (ok, and me, too!). There are recipes for chocolate butter spreads to go with it, or chocolate honey butter – but we liked it plain, or toasted with cream cheese. YUMmmm.