I did not use fancy Dutch processed cocoa and instead finished up some stale cocoa in the back of my pantry, and it still turned out great. I also made my own buttermilk, thanks to a tip from a friend of mine. I simply added a teaspoon of vinegar to whole milk and in a few minutes I had curdled milk. I usually find these kinds of recipes too sweet, but I used dark chocolate chips and feel it resulted in the right amount of sweetness. I added a spoon of espresso powder, which is optional but I feel always brings out the chocolate flavors.
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup Dutch cocoa powder, sifted (or regular, old, cocoa, unsifted, like I used)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 t baking soda
3/4 t baking powder
1 t salt
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
3/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 t vanilla
1 t espresso powder
8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chunks
Preheat oven to 350°. Place brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add cocoa, flour, granulated sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and espresso powder, if using. In a separate bowl, whisk egg and egg yolks until blended, then add buttermilk, vegetable oil, and vanilla; whisk until combined. Turn mixer to low and pour in egg-buttermilk mixture in a thin steady stream, mixing just until combined. Remove the bowl; stir in chocolate chunks by hand with a wooden spoon. Pour the batter into a loaf pan and bake in the center of oven for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of loaf comes out clean. Let cool in pan for 15 minutes; remove and place on rack to cool completely.
