Tasty Tuesday: Chocolate Chai Bread

I am a big fan of quick breads: banana, pumpkin, zucchini, chocolate chip,  blueberry, lemon poppy seed . . . the list goes on. My absolute favorite is chai. I had never even heard of chai bread until a few years ago. After I had made the chai tea mix the first time, I came across a recipe for the bread. It's been my favorite ever since. One would think though, that since it's near and dear to my heart, I would keep track of the recipe. Unfortunately, that's not the case. I thought I had a copy of it in my recipe folder. Not there. Not a problem, I thought. I'll just get it from allrecipes.com, where I often find recipes, and where I originally got it. Hmm, not there anymore either. I searched all over the internet, but could not find my beloved recipe. I settled on the one below.

My Happy Helper

He sat like a little puppy, waiting for Alyssa to drop him chocolate chips.

 Ingredients:

2 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped             1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup water                                                         3 tablespoons chai tea mix

1/2 cup butter, softened                                         1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup packed brown sugar                                     1/2 teaspoon salt

2 eggs                                                                     1/2 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Frosting:

1 cup confectioners' sugar                                     1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon butter, softened                                 4 to 5 teaspoons milk

1 tablespoon chai tea latte mix

Directions:

1. In a microwave, melt chocolate with the water; stir until smooth. Cool slightly. In a large bowl, cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla, then chocolate mixture.

2. Combine the flour, latte mix, baking soda and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream.

3. Transfer to three greased 5-3/4-in. x 3-in. x 2-in. loaf pans. Bake at 350° for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to a wire rack to cool completely.

4. For frosting, combine the confectioners' sugar, butter, latte mix, vanilla and enough milk to achieve desired consistency. Frost tops of loaves.

This was her first time mixing all by herself.

Taken before she spilled chai tea mix all over the counter.

Ready to alternate mixing.

Pro-Mixer

I called. He saw. He ran.

Ready for the oven.

Jake said, "Mmm, I could smell them while I was brushing my teeth!"

Psst . . you can see on the left where someone stole a piece before the picture was taken. I won't tell you who, but it starts with an M and ends with and E.

This recipe was a little different from the other one, (I don't think it had chocolate.) but it was delicious. Both loaves were gone within 2 days. The boys would have eaten it completely by themselves if I would have let them. Yeah, it's that good. Also, I learned a new trick this time. Make the baked goods at night so the kids are getting in bed when it's coming out of the oven. I actually got to lick the frosting beaters!

If you don't want to take the time to make the chai tea mix, (as we showed here) you can buy a latte mix at the grocery store. I recommend making the mix and definitely making this bread. You will not be disappointed!