triple chocolate loaf cake
Triple chocolate loaf cake is a chocolate lover’s dream! With a triple hit of chocolate, you’ll love this easy chocolate loaf cake.
My favorite chocolate desserts deliver rich chocolate flavor, and this loaf cake does just that. Unsweetened cocoa powder, bittersweet (or dark) chocolate chips, and semisweet chocolate chips ensure that each bite is decadent. Rich and fudgy, this is the perfect anytime cake!
Perfect Triple Chocolate Loaf Cake
Room Temperature Ingredients – Room temperature butter, egg, and buttermilk ensure an extra moist cake.
Chocolate – This recipe uses unsweetened cocoa, bittersweet chocolate chips, and semisweet chocolate chips. You can also use a mix of dark and semisweet chocolate chips.
Instant Espresso – Chocolate and espresso are the perfect pair, and a touch of instant espresso is the secret ingredient to add depth to this chocolate cake.
Boiling Water – Boiling water added to the batter blooms and dissolves the cocoa for a super rich, Devil’s food chocolate flavor.
Bake Time – Bake cake until the top springs back to the touch and a tester inserted in the center come out with a few crumbs attached, about 50 to 55 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes before gently lifting from the pan and transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
Topping – While the cake cools, sprinkle the top with additional chocolate chips! Or dress up the cake even further with a simple perfect chocolate glaze.
Triple Chocolate Loaf Cake
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
- Yield: 1 cake, 12 slices
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
Triple chocolate loaf cake is a chocolate lover’s dream! With a triple hit of chocolate, you’ll love this easy chocolate cake.
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 1/4 cups flour
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
- 3/4 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk, at room temperature
- 1/2 tsp instant espresso
- 1/4 cup boiling water
- 1/3 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
- 1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Topping
- 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips, divided
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and spray an 9 x 5-inch loaf pan with nonstick spray. Line pan with parchment paper, letting excess extend over sides of pan.
- Whisk together flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Beat butter and sugar in a large mixer bowl at medium speed until light and fluffy; beat in egg and vanilla. Reduce speed to low and add half of flour mixture, beating just to combine. Add buttermilk, then finish with remaining flour mixture. Dissolve espresso powder in boiling water and slowly mix in. Fold in chocolate chips.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and tap pan sharply to reduce air bubbles. Sprinkle the batter with 2 tablespoons chocolate chips.
- Bake for 50 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few crumbs attached and cake springs back to the touch. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. While the cake is cooling, top with remaining chocolate chips.
- Carefully lift cake from pan and cool completely on wire rack. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.
Keywords: Chocolate, Chocolate Chips, Loaf Cake, Chocolate Cake
More chocolate cake recipes you’ll love:
Dark Chocolate Sheet Cake
Double Chocolate Bundt Cake
Classic Chocolate Layer Cake
37 comments
Hello,
I have commented before as I love your simple and delicious recipes. They really are no-fuss and turn out wonderfully every time.
I plan to make this recipe as soon as possible, but just wanted to check how many grams are in 1 US cup of cocoa?
Thanks again.
Regards from Australia,
Angela
Hi Angela! 1 cup of unsweetened cocoa is 84 grams. 🙂
This recipe is amazing and delicious. You just have to follow the instructions, which are simple, and you will have a fluffy and a great loaf cake with a deeper flavor of chocolate.
Regards from Madrid, Spain.
Giselle Marín
★★★★★
So happy you loved this cake! Thank you, Giselle! 🙂
Can I use cake flour?
Hi Rae Ann! Yes you can, happy baking! 🙂
Is Dutch processed cocoa the best option?
Hi Teresa! Yes, Dutch processed cocoa works well in this cake. I love and mostly use Rodelle Gourmet Baking Cocoa. 🙂
Hi! Is the instant espresso the same as instant coffee?
Hi Rachel! Instant espresso is similar (usually a bit stronger than instant coffee). If you’re using instant coffee, I would increase the amount to 1 teaspoon. Hope that helps! 🙂
Real chocolaty!! Thank you for the easy but very tasty recipe.
Ati
★★★★★
So glad you tried this cake, thank you Ati!
This cake is so moist and flavorful that it doesn’t need frosting of any kind. The ingredients really make a difference – I used high quality cocoa powder and dark chocolate chips.
★★★★★
I’m so happy you tried this cake! Thank you, Steph! 🙂
I baked this chocolate cake yesterday. It is a very good recipe. Very tasty, moist, and my kids loved it!
★★★★★
Hi Helena, I’m so glad this cake was a hit with your family! 🙂
Perfectly dense and fudgy with a deep chocolate flavor (I used Valrhona chocolate).
★★★★★
The perfect chocolate loaf cake, so fudgy and rich! We loved this cake topped with vanilla ice cream.
★★★★★
I’m so happy to hear that and I love the ice cream idea! Thank you, Trish! 🙂
Incredibly rich and chocolatey, and so easy to make!
★★★★★
Hi Dayna, happy to hear this cake was a success! 🙂
So rich and moist! The chocolate flavor is spot on (I used Ghirardelli chocolate) and I love serving this cake slightly warm so that the chocolate chips are gooey.
★★★★★
So happy you loved this cake, Sara! 🙂
Thanks so much for your feedback, Sara! I love baking with Ghirardelli too. 🙂
Instead of instant espresso and hot water, is it possible to use 1/4 cup of a Nespresso I make from my machine? Will be trying this recipe this weekend 🙂 Thanks!
Yes, absolutely! Happy baking! 🙂
Can I use coconut milk rather than buttermilk?
Hi Susan, I haven’t tried this cake with coconut milk, but it should work fine!
Thx so much! Im going to use it and will let u know results !
★★★★★
A perfectly delightful cake in every way. I happened to have black cocoa and used it for this cake, which just added even more depth to the flavor. This one didn’t last long in my house!
★★★★★
Thank you so much, Leah! That absolutely makes my day! 🙂
Looks loooovely! Would love to make this in an 8″ or 9″ cake pan – any advice on timings? Plan to cover it with a dark chocolate ganache. Yum! And thanks for all your lovely posts!
Hi Cindy, I would try my classic chocolate layer cake: https://tutti-dolci.com/classic-chocolate-layer-cake/ That recipe can be baked in 8 or 9-inch round cake pans.
The best chocolate loaf cake! So rich and fudgy, and using quality chocolate and cocoa makes all the difference.
★★★★★
Hi Jill, thank you so much for your feedback! 🙂
Does this cake freeze well? I’d like to make it ahead for a family function.
Yes it does! Once the cake has cooled completely, I like to slice it and wrap the slices individually to freeze.