Chocolate Peanut Butter Delight Bread

After making that crumb-topped Biscoff Cinnamon Swirl Bread last week, it got me to thinking about how great a CHOCOLATE crumb topped bread would be. I literally could not get the idea out of my head, so I had no choice but to run to the kitchen to try it out.

I started with the Chocolate Loaf recipe from Baked Explorations. I've made it before and knew how amazing it was. Seriously, it is so dense and chocolatey that you'd swear you're eating a brownie. The only change I made to that recipe itself was to use melted butter in place of the oil.

Then, I got creative. First, I made a mixture of melted chocolate and peanut butter. This would be the filling in between the layers of bread. In order to keep it liquidy and smooth, I put the bowl in another bowl of warm water. It works perfectly as long as you don't get any of the water into your chocolate-peanut butter mixture.

Next, I created a chocolate crumb topping. It took a bit of tweaking and a lot of tasting to get it right. It had to be chocolatey enough, of course, and I also wanted it to be sweet enough, but not too sweet. Several yummy bites later, it was just right. If you're making this bread, you might want to make the crumb topping first so that it's ready to go when you start layering in the batter. You can put it in the fridge to keep it nice and cold until it's time to use it.

Finally, it was time to put it all together. I used mini loaf pans and filled each one with about 1/3 cup of batter to start (any more batter will cause the pans to overflow and you'll lose all your lovely crumb topping). Then, I dolloped on a layer of the chocolate-peanut butter mixture (about 3 Tbsp.). It's your choice whether you want to swirl it in or not. I did one loaf both ways to see which way I liked better. Finally, I topped it off with another 1/3 cup of batter and cobblestoned the top with large chocolatey crumbs.


The finished loaves were awesome! The chocolate bread was rich like a brownie and the chocolate-peanut butter filling was like a molten river running through it. As for the crumb topping? Well, who doesn't like crumb topping is all I can say. To finish it all off, I drizzled it with melted peanut butter. Decadent!


I even had some batter left over (since I only made half a batch), so I made muffins with them. Chocolate and peanut butter for breakfast? Don't need to ask me twice. Enjoy!


Chocolate Peanut Butter Delight Bread (adapted from BAKED Explorations and created by Lisa of Sweet as Sugar Cookies)

3/4 c. firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 1/2 c. flour
1 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
3/4 c. buttermilk
1/2 c. unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp. vanilla

Chocolate Crumb Topping (by Sweet as Sugar Cookies):

1 1/2 c. flour
5 Tbsp. cocoa powder
14 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 c. butter, chilled

Combine the dry ingredients and whisk together well. Cut in the butter until you get pea-sized bits. Set in the fridge to chill until ready to use.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Filling (by Sweet as Sugar Cookies):

1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chips
6 Tbsp. peanut butter (creamy or chunky)

Melt the chocolate chips with the peanut butter in the microwave or in a double boiler and stir to combine. Set aside. Note: If you're worried about it solidifying before you're ready to use it, you can do what I did and put the bowl of chocolate-peanut butter into another bowl half filled with warm water (just don't let any water get into the chocolate mixture).

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease and flour five mini loaf pans.

Combine the dry ingredients. Whisk the eggs with the egg yolk, then add the buttermilk, oil, and vanilla and whisk until combined. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients mixing just until combined.

Pour 1/3 cup of the batter into each loaf pan. Dollop 3 Tbsp. of the chocolate-peanut butter filling onto the batter and spread it as evenly as you can without mixing it into the batter itself. Spread 1/3 cup more of batter onto the filling and spread evenly.

Take your crumb topping and squeeze it in your hand to form it into clumps. Pinch off pieces of the crumb topping (as big as you want) and make a layer of pieces on the top of the batter, covering the top completely. Bake for 45-60 min. or until a toothpick comes out clean.

After removing it from the oven, let cool in the pans for at least 10 min., then put in the fridge to let the chocolate filling solidify a little (to make it easier to unmold). Or, if it doesn't bother you to have it fall apart a bit, go ahead and forgo the chilling and enjoy a piece while it's still warm and the chocolate inside is deliciously gooey.

If making muffins:

Grease and flour four mini muffin tins. Fill each with about a tablespoonful of batter. Top with some of the crumb topping. Bake at 350F for about 12-15 min. (or until a toothpick comes out clean). When cooled, drizzle with melted peanut butter.

Notes:

1. If you want, you can swirl the chocolate-peanut butter mixture into the batter. Or, leave it as written and you'll have a nice ribbon of it running straight through the middle.

2. Chilling it after it has cooled a little might make it easier to unmold. If you do chill it, the chocolate-peanut butter layer in the middle will solidify to become almost like fudge. If you choose not to chill it, it might break just a little, but you'll have the benefit of enjoying a nice melty, gooey layer of chocolatey-peanut buttery goodness. It's a win-win situation either way.