'Dense' chocolate loaf

I had my carton of buttermilk still hanging out in my fridge, so I decided I should use it up before it expired. Good thinking too, it was definitely on it's way out when I checked.

I found this recipe in a book called "Quick Loaves" from Jean Anderson. It was hanging around in a box in the spare bedroom that I found while because caught off guard on the phone with an old lady who likes to chat your ears off.

This is a gooder because it's easy to make and actually doesn't have much sugar or butter in it at all, which is great for me. The book has a bunch of common recipes at the beginning, and then the real recipes call for things from these common ones. This one starts with the quick cake mix.

Quick Cake Mix

• 2 cups sifted flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) ice cold diced butter

1. Add everything to the food processor and pulse until a crumbly meal (like lentils) is reached. This makes ~4 1/2 cups of mix.

Next comes the real recipe. I (almost) doubled it, because I had enough of the mix. Since I only had large eggs, I thought if I made just less than a double batch, they would work great, and they did!

Dense, Dark Chocolate Loaf

• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 extra large egg
• 2 tsp instant espresso
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups Quick Cake Mix
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1. Move the rack to the lower third, preheat oven to 375F and grease a loaf pan. (I always line with parchment instead - less fat!)
2. Combine the buttermilk, egg, espresso and vanilla in a measure cup and mix. Let the espresso dissolve.
3. Add the cake mix, baking soda, and sift in cocoa. Mix until combined, and make a well in the middle.
4. Whisk the buttermilk until smooth and pour into the well. Fold gently until combined. (It will be stiff and lumpy)
5. Pour batter until the pan. (get the corners too)
6. Bake for ~45 minutes.
7. Cool on a rack up top for 10 minutes before removing to cool to room temperature.
8. Serve it up with a scoop of frozen yogurt!

All that's missing is the frozen yogurt!

The reason why I call this cake 'dense' is because it was so much lighter than I expected. I was expecting something that really was like a pound cake, and got nothing of it. Certainly, I didn't expect it though, seeing as how I added baking powder to the cake mix, and then baking soda to the loaf too.

I hope you enjoy this confused cake-loaf!