I make a lot of loaf pan chocolate cakes these days, but Brownstone Front Cake is the OG chocolate loaf cake. Referenced in many a historical cookbook, it is a rectangular shaped chocolate cake named for the front of a brownstone.
There are different versions of Brownstone Front Cake. Some call for whipped egg whites, some are made with cocoa, others solid chocolate, and most include sour cream and buttermilk. Frostings varies. White frostings are often used, but for my first Brownstone Front Cake I used a chocolate frosting.
The recipe below will give you a cake with a moist but light texture. It doesn't make a ton of icing, but you will get enough to cover the cake. I’m glad I didn’t double it. Also, this is a cake open to a lot of fun decorating ideas. That was wasted on me since I frosted the cake right after dinner and served it immediately for dessert, but if I'd planned ahead I could have had a lot of fun with the shape.
Brownstone Front Cake
1 cup water, boiling
2 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour (230 grams)
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
4 oz unsalted butter, room temperature
1 ¾ cups firmly packed brown sugar (350 grams)
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract
½ cup sour cream, room temperature
Frosting:
2 tablespoons softened butter (28 grams)
1 cup powdered sugar
Pinch of salt
1 oz melted unsweetened chocolate, cooled
½ teaspoon vanilla
2-4 tablespoons whole milk
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Spray a 9x5 inch metal loaf pan with flour added cooking spray and line the bottom with a rectangle of parchment paper.
In a large (2 cup) microwave-safe measuring cup or in a saucepan, bring the water to a boil. Stir chocolate into the water and let it sit until it’s room temperature. This takes a while so do it first.
Sift the flour, then whisk it with the baking soda, and salt.
In bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attached, beat the butter until creamy. Beat in the brown sugar and continue beating for about 3 minutes on high, scraping sides of bowl. Beat in the eggs, one at time, beating 30 seconds after each egg, then beat in the vanilla.
Make sure the chocolate/water mixture is room temperature, then stir in the sour cream into the water. Starting and ending with the flour mixture, add flour mixture and chocolate mixture to batter alternately, stirring just to blend. Batter might be a little lumpy.
Bake on center rack at 325 F. for one hour. Cool in the pan for about 15 minutes, then invert onto a rack to finish cooling.
For frosting, beat together the butter and powdered sugar. Add the salt and melted chocolate. Continue beating and scraping sides of bowl. Add the vanilla. Add milk as needed, starting with 2 tablespoons and using more (I used all 4 T.).
Ice the cake!
Notes:
Get a good head start on the boiling water and chocolate step so it will have time to come to room temperature.
shana says
I made this cake and did a caramel icing... everyone LOVED it and said it was exactly what they were use to from growing up. Wonderful recipe 🙂 Thanks
Janet says
The jury is in on the cake...it was a huge success. Had company and it served way more than 2;-) Everyone loved this cake. I like a LOT of frosting so I used your recipe on half of the cake and I had some frozen chocolate frosting that I used on the other half. Made a bunch of semi sweet chocolate curls for on top to disguise the differences in the two frostings....thanks again!
Janet says
Good morning! I have this cake baking in the oven right now...smells delicious and looks perfect. Glad it's sized for 2 and I can whip it up quickly. I was a little surprised at how much batter was in the loaf pan....worried it might overflow but so far...so good;-) Thanks for the tempting picture and recipe!
Cat @ ButteryBakery says
I love chocolate cake! And I always think thin icings are better because I'm not crazy about a ton of icing on cakes.
Anna says
Jenn, I'm glad you added the espresso powder. I might try adding coffee next time too.
Taste of Cuba says
UGGGGH! I can't believe I made the mistake of reading this recipe and looking at that yummy pic on an empty stomach. Bakery, here I come 😉
Jenn says
I made this last night and iced it up today...so, so good! I did add some espresso powder to the hot water (I love coffee & chocolate together!) and baked it in a 8x8 pan (which I cut to make a layered loaf). Everyone loved it! Thanks so much for the recipe!
Karen says
Beautiful! I love sour cream in everything!
Tina from PA says
This looks so good ! I too like recipes for smaller cakes ,it's only the 2 of us . I'm always sending stuff to work with my hubby , the guys just love it ! Thanks for sharing another great recipe!
Bakericious says
looks so chocolately, yummy cake!
Kathleen says
My mom used to make Brownstone Front Cake when I was little (40 years ago or so). Her version is a little different. I smiled when I saw your recipe for it. Thanks and I really enjoy reading your recipes.
Joe says
I like that it's a small cake too - I've never heard the name of this one before.
Kim Fluck says
Mmmm, with those ingredients, it's got to be moist and tastey! I like the cake's small size for a small family like mine. When I make a big cake, we eat too much...
Lisa Ernst says
This looks like a fun, easy to make chocolate cake. It has been years since I baked a chocolate cake (not counting German chocolate cake.) I stumbled across something that looks really intriguing though -- Broklyn Brownout Cake. Ever heard of it? It looks really good and quite tempting, although there is an extra step in baking brownies!
http://www.belleofthebakery.com/2009/04/sweet-melissa-sundays-brooklyn-brownout.html