What’s Baking: Chocolate Orange Loaf

It’s time again!! For What’s Baking, that is. It’s also Monday, which is not my favorite day of the week, but it’s definitely a little better when you wake up to a chocolately-citrus bread.

This month, Jenna from Jenna’s Cooking Journey is our hostess, and she chose the theme of Quick Breads. I have had this particular bread on my to-make list for quite some time, and as soon as I saw the theme, I knew what bread I was going to make. Quick breads are really just that…quick, delicious (often sweet in some form) bread. I whipped this bread up on Saturday, before heading to my friend’s house in San Antonio for an early birthday celebration. It came in handy at 2 a.m. when we returned home from the bar, for the birthday girl especially. It’s not too sweet, and has a nice citrus flavor. It actually reminds me of those chocolate oranges that you can get in the stores during the holiday season, but not quite as sweet.

Thank you to Jenna for a great theme, and be sure to check out her blog at the beginning of October for the full round-up!

Chocolate Orange Loaf
Source: Better Homes & Gardens

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 sticks unsalted butter, softened (10 Tbsp.)
• 2 Tbsp light corn syrup
• 1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tbsp orange zest
• 3 Tbsp orange juice

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 9x5x3-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer beat the butter, syrup, and sugar until fairly smooth.
3. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking soda, and cocoa powder. Mix 1 tablespoon of the flour mixture into the syrup mixture, then beat in one egg. Add another couple of spoonfuls of dry ingredients before beating in the remaining egg.
4. Beat in remaining dry ingredients, and then add, while still beating, the orange zest. Gradually add the juice.
5. Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 minutes (edges should look dry and center of cake may have dipped slightly). Cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool completely.