Mocha Swirl Bread

Seriously this cake is jinxed.

This is the second time I am trying it and the second time I am getting it wrong.

Last time I dropped the whole cake halfway through the baking process, while I was trying to check on doneness. You can refresh your memory here. This time even before starting, I managed to drop the box of cornmeal on the floor. On the plus side, the box did not empty completely and some of the cornmeal did not spill onto the floor, leaving me with sufficient cornmeal to use in the cake. On the negative side, the cornmeal did make quite a mess on the floor.

If that was not enough, like last time I forgot that I was supposed to put the espresso water and cocoa after I divided the batter. I would like to blame the whole cleaning up of the corn meal from the floor process for my temporary absent mindedness, but I dont think it was just that. The cake is just jinxed.

Since it was too late to do anything I thought I will make a mocha chocolate swirl bread. So I added 4tsp of cocoa, 3 tsp of sugar and 2 tsp of yogurt to one of the parts and baked it. It might not be like the original, but it did not turn that bad either. Anyway I will try again. Maybe third time’s the charm?

The best part of this cake is that it comes together so quickly. There is no sifting of the dry ingredients first, beating the butter and sugar, then adding the eggs, then the essence and then gently folding in the dry with the wet, and then baking it.

Nope. There was no such thing involved.

Its a pretty straight forward recipe where you just beat everything together. And probably that’s why I screw it up every time. I just get so excited at the prospect of dumping everything in, that I do just that – dump everything, including the espresso and cocoa in before dividing the batter. :/

Anyway, I hope you dont make the same mistake and give it a go. Even with the goof up, if I could have had two pieces today, I am sure without the goof up it would taste even better. And if you love coffee, you would just love this!

Mocha Swirl Bread

Recipe Type: cake, bread

Author: from Portuguese Girls Cooks

Prep time: 10 mins

Cook time: 55 mins

Total time: 1 hour 5 mins

Serves: one loaf

Ingredients

For the cake:
1 1/2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
1 tablespoon boiling water
3/4 cup greek yogurt
1/2 cup cornmeal
8 tablespoons (4 oz or 1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons cocoa powder
For the Glaze
2 teaspoons instant espresso powder
2 teaspoons boiling water
1 tablespoon greek yogurt
2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons powdered sugar, sifted

Instructions

Note: Since I have erred more than once on this, I am putting this note before you start the whole baking process. Do not add the espresso and cocoa powder to the batter. Only add it to the divided batter.

For the cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan.
Dissolve the instant espresso powder in the boiling water. Let cool.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add in the yogurt, cornmeal, butter, sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and vanilla extract. (I repeat DO NOT add the cocoa powder and espresso in this step) Beat on medium speed until all ingredients are well combined, about 1 to 2 minutes.
Divide half the batter into another bowl and now is when you add in the dissolved espresso and cocoa powder. Mix gently until combined.
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, alternating spoonfuls of the vanilla and mocha batter, creating a checkerboard pattern. Create 3 layers of this pattern. Run a knife or long skewer through the batter, using a swirling motion, to create the marble effect.
Bake for about 55 minutes (it took mine 10 minutes more), or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
Let cool in the pan on a cooling rack for 15 minutes, then remove from loaf pan, and cool completely on a cooling rack.

For the Glaze

In a medium bowl, whisk the espresso powder and boiling water until dissolved. Whisk in the yogurt. Then whisk in the sifted powdered sugar until smooth. If the glaze is too thick add in a few drops of water and mix. Spread the glaze onto the cooled cake.

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