Chocolate Espresso Bread with Vanilla Glaze

This weekend I’m FINALLY getting out with my boyfriend for a little trip. We’d been talking about it since we moved to West Virginia, but you know how things just always seem to pop up and get in the way. Well, it’s finally happening and I’m hoping to see a few new sights and read a new book and maybe even get some sun on my pale legs! Oh, don’t worry. Molly is coming too!

Since I have plans to get out of my apartment (Hallelujah!) for a few days, I decided I’d better get to making some goodies before I left and didn’t have access to a kitchen. You know, just to get it out of my system. I still (stilllll…) have some leftover instant espresso powder from when I made Coffee Cake Muffins and this Banana Breakfast Shake, so of course it was time to try using it again. You don’t have to use much to get the flavor in baking, so I’m thinking I’m going to have to drink this stuff. That probably means I’m going to have to buy a cute little demitasse cup, and quite frankly, I can’t find anything wrong with this idea!

Chocolate Espresso Bread Recipe:

1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup whole milk
1/4 cup cold brewed coffee
1-1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon instant espresso powder
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips + 1 Tablespoon flour to keep them from sinking

Vanilla Glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3 Tablespoons whole milk

First, grease a 5×9 loaf pan with spray oil and pre-heat your oven to 350-degrees.

Then, in a medium sized bowl, combine both sugars, vegetable oil, egg, vanilla, milk and cold coffee and whisk until everything is combined. You’ll end up with a grey looking mixture that doesn’t look very appetizing, but that’s okay!

Next, in a large sized bowl, combine all of your dry ingredients except the chocolate chips.

Now you’re ready to mix!

Slowly pour your wet ingredients into the large bowl of dry ingredients and stir just until combined.

In another small bowl, add your chocolate chips and tablespoon of flour. Toss around until your chips are coated.

Add them to your batter and stir until combined.

Pour your batter into your greased loaf pan. Bake at 350-degrees for 50-minutes to an hour, until you can insert a toothpick and it comes out clean.

For the glaze, you’ll add your powdered sugar to a bowl. Pour in your vanilla and add your milk 1 tablespoon at a time. Use a whisk to blend, you’ll know if you more milk because it will clump inside the whisk.

Adding a little more milk at a time, you’ll end up with a smooth, creamy glaze.

Once your bread has cooled COMPLETELY, you can drizzled the top with the vanilla glaze. The bread is a slightly bitter, chocolate and coffee flavor, so don’t be shy with that sweet creamy glaze!

I used a fairly large soup ladle to top my bread with glaze and then went back in with a small dinner spoon and some melted chocolate chips to do a smaller chocolate drizzle. Then I topped it with semi-sweet chocolate chips, because why not?

Have a very happy weekend! It’s already mid-July so be sure you plan something you wanted to do this summer before it’s over!