a dessert bread baked with buttermilk and pecans that is moist and tart. It is covered in a buttery chocolate pecan frosting once it has cooled.
| Prep Time: | 15 mins |
| Cook Time: | 1 hr |
| Total Time: | 1 hr 15 mins |
| Servings: | 12 |
| Yield: | 1 – 9×5 inch loaf |
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup chopped pecans
- ½ cup margarine
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 5 tablespoons milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- 1 (16 ounce) package confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees F). Grease only the bottom of a 9×5 inch loaf pan.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the buttermilk. Combine the flour, 1/2 cup cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt; stir into the buttermilk mixture until moistened. Mix in 1/3 cup pecans. Pour into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 55 to 65 minutes in the preheated oven, until a wooden pick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Combine the margarine, 1/4 cup cocoa, and milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook, stirring, until melted and smooth. Remove from heat, and mix in the vanilla and confectioners’ sugar. Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup pecans. Spread on top of the cooled loaf.
Nutrition Facts
| Calories | 500 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 73 g |
| Cholesterol | 53 mg |
| Dietary Fiber | 3 g |
| Protein | 6 g |
| Saturated Fat | 8 g |
| Sodium | 344 mg |
| Sugars | 55 g |
| Fat | 23 g |
| Unsaturated Fat | 0 g |
Reviews
Add 2 mashed banana
We love this bread. It always turns out perfect. I add slivered almonds, chocolate chips, and a tsp. of vanilla to the batter. Our neighbors are always delighted when we share!
I followed the recipe. Very easy and it tasted very good. I didn’t make the glaze because I didn’t think it was needed. Another reviewer said she made a glaze of milk and confectioners sugar. Did the same. I think I will make this again.
I had some buttermilk to use up and was craving chocolate so I thought I’d give this a go. I did not make the frosting because I like my quick breads as they are or maybe with a little butter spread on. I gotta say, I don’t know what all the negative fuss is about. This was awesome. It was dense, very moist and chocolatey enough to satisfy my ravenous craving–trust me that means a lot! For the naysayers, this is not supposed to be a very rich and fudge-like dessert. It can be but if that’s how you want it, then create the recipe and post it. BOOM.
Excellent! I didn’t have buttermilk so I soured some sweet milk with vinegar – worked great. I also added a touch of instant coffee granules, some vanilla, and chocolate chips. I did not make the topping. Easy and delicious recipe that I’ll do again and again. Thanks for the recipe, Mindy!
Not my favorite. It’s ok with the frosting, but then it’s more of a cake, not really a bread. The bread alone was very bland, so as written it definitely needs the frosting. I love buttermilk-batter recipes so I would try something like this again, but I would tweak the batter, maybe adding more sugar, some vanilla and even some chocolate chips so as not to have to use the frosting.
I used applesauce instead of butter and milk instead of buttermilk. It turned out great. I skipped the icing as I felt it didn’t need it. It was great plain, even without butter.
This is a very good dense chocolate bread. Makes a nice breakfast bread with coffee. I did not add the frosting. It did not need it.
This bread is delicious and is almost the same recipe as Buttermilk Chocolate Bread on this site except this recipe has 1/4 c. more flour and a different spread. This bread is not sticky like some quick breads … sorta brownie like in flavor but with an almost cake-like texture. I used chocolate chips pulsed through the food processor instead of nuts and did add a tsp. of chocolate extract. After it cooled completely I wrapped it well and put it in the fridge. It was better the next day. I did not make the spread but will next time (I used another spread recipe). This recipe is a keeper and presents itself well.
I was disappointed by both the flavor and texture. If you want a real bread instead of a cake, you would add fewer liquids (ie, milk) into the recipe. This bread took forever to bake too – I left it in the oven for 90 minutes! Also, this recipe did not have an intense chocolate flavor; it was like biting into a light chocolate mousse and expecting it to be full of chocolate.
If you’re looking for a rich flavored bread/cake, consider adding a bit of molasses and a dash of cinnamon. If you’re looking for a chocolatey bread/cake, you’ll need to replace the nuts with chocolate chips (I used regular-size semi-sweet chips) and consider adding a teaspoon of vanilla. Don’t add cinnamon if you’re looking for chocolate, since it distracts from what little chocolate flavor there is. This “bread” (more like a dense cake) isn’t what you need if you’re looking for a chocolate fix, but it is delicious. I went with my suggested chocolate suggestions above (chips and vanilla) and ate it without the frosting. Chocolatey enough to enjoy, but not a chocoholic’s dream. Without the chips it wouldn’t have really tasted much like chocolate…just a very rich, dark-flavored bread (they help bring out the mild chocolate flavor in the bread).
Wow, chocolate cake for breakfast!!! I guess you can call it “bread” and get away with it. This was very moist due to the buttermilk and was so delicious. I used 1 & 1/2 c. flour, 1/2 c. white sugar & 1/2 c. brown sugar and added 1 tsp. of vanilla. This is a versatile recipe because when it comes to that extra 1/3 c. you can add any type of chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, almonds) or you could use chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, etc… It all depends on your taste. I added 1/3 c. of chopped almonds and did a choclate glaze. I hate to say it, but I took a look at the frosting and it did look like it would be a bit much, so I didn’t want to ruin this bread/cake. This is definitely a sweet treat!
I added 1 ts vanilla, used 1 cup of chocolate chips instead of pecans and sugared the pan with sugar in the raw and put some on the top of the batter as well. I DID NOT use frosting; I think that it doesn’t need it and adding the chocolate chips and sprinkling sugar on the top before baking adds the necessary sweetness. Overall, a great bread, good for breakfast (if like sweets that early) or a good dessert/snack bread. Quick, easy, yummy. Definately a keeper.
this was DELICIOUS and moist! it was chocolatey without being saccharine. and it was easy! my non-baker friend made this and it turned out perfectly!
I added cinnamon, vanilla, and mini chocolate chips. I baked it in 5 mini ceramic loaf pans to give as gifts. The bread came out very moist and delicious! I left off the icing but decorated the loaves with a drizzle of icing made with powdered sugar and milk. Thank you for a great recipe!
I was looking for a chocolate breakfast bread and this is very good as such. Used 3/4c whole wheat flour and used half white and half brown sugar. Sliced, heated and buttered this is a chocoholics dream breakfast. If I were to use this as a dessert bread for a brownie sundae or choc/strawberry shortcake, I would add 1 tsp of vanilla.
Based on the other reviews, I did not make the frosting but did add 1/3 c. chocolate chips. This was good but not great. It needs something. I think that next time I will increase the chocolate chips and use the minis. Also, perhaps 1 t. of cinnamon would perk it up.
How can anyone say this isnt a great bread?Moist easy and a chocoholic’s dream!I too used choc.chips.Wonderful!This would make a good food gift.I also find frosting unneccesary.
Very good, dense bread. I skipped the pecans and added 1/3 c. chocolate chips. I also left off the frosting; it’s sweet enough as is I think.
Very Good.
Good, but the frosting was very very messy.