Chocolate Tea Bread

A QUICK AND EASY DESSERT BREAD FOR ANY TIME OF THE DAY!

90 minutes + resting time

Serves: 12

Easy

A very chocolatey quick bread that's super easy to make and the perfect treat for any time of the day.

This Chocolate Tea Bread is a classic quick bread that might be a bit closer to chocolate cake than bread. But if you call it bread, you can eat it for breakfast. It’s VERY chocolatey and super easy to make – just dump and mix and bake! We’ve been eating in the mornings but I can see it easily being a mid-afternoon snack (hence its name) or after dinner dessert. Really, there’s not a time I wouldn’t accept a slice!

To make the Chocolate Tea Bread, get off to a good start by making sure your eggs are room temp (set them out the night before baking if you can) and be sure to preheat the oven. That’s about it for prep work! Then, you basically mix all the wet ingredients plus the sugar together for a bit followed by whisking together all the dry ingredients separately. Then combine the two and mix for a few minutes and then fold in your chocolate chips and nuts. And that’s it! It’s ready to bake.

The chocolate chips and walnuts are both optional of course but add quite a bit in terms of flavor and texture. If you do plan to add walnuts, I strongly recommend you toast them first. It adds so much flavor! And be sure to chop them up well enough so they are roughly the same size as the chocolate chips.

I hope you give this Chocolate Tea Bread a try. It’s almost a no-fail bread recipe that’ll be a hit with everyone. If you do give it a try, let me know what you think in the comments or share a picture with me on Instagram (@bdhbakes).

Steps:

PREHEAT OVEN TO 350º
TOAST WALNUTS
Once the oven comes to temperature, place the walnuts in a single layer on a baking tray lined with parchment paper or silicon lining. Bake in the oven until lightly toasted about 5-10 minutes. Allow to cool to room temperature.
COMBINE WET INGREDIENTS & SUGAR
While the walnuts are roasting, add the applesauce, shortening, eggs, water, and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer or a medium sized bowl. Beat together on low for about 30 seconds.
COMBINE DRY INGREDIENTS
In a separate medium sized bowl, add the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt, and baking powder. Whisk the dry ingredients together until evenly distributed.
ADD THE DRY INTO THE WET
Now add your whisked dry ingredients into your wet ingredients and mix on low for about 30 seconds or until there are no longer any visible dry spots. Then, increase the mixer speed to medium-high and beat for about 2 1/2 minutes.
CHOP WALNUTS
Now that the walnuts are cooled, chop them into small pieces.
FOLD CHOCOLATE CHIPS AND WALNUTS INTO DOUGH
Add the chocolate chips and chopped walnuts to the dough and fold them in by hand using a large rubber spatula. Mix just until the chocolate chips and nuts are evenly distributed.
PREP AND FILL BREAD PAN
Lightly spray a 9x5 bread pan and then line it with parchment paper. You'll want extra parchment paper coming out on both of the long sides to serve as a handle to pull the bread out after baking. Making sure the pan and the paper are lightly sprayed with cooking spray and then fill with the dough, leveling out the top.
BAKE BREAD FOR 60 - 70 MINUTES
Bake the bread in the preheated oven for about 60 to 70 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the bread comes out clean. Once its done baking, allow the bread to cool in the pan for five minutes and then pull it out of the pan and allow to cool completely to room temperature on a wire wrack.
MAKE GLAZE
Once the bread is room temperature (about 1-2 hours) make the glaze by combing the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla in a mixing glass with a spout. Then, pour the glaze evenly over the bread and allow to set before serving.