Chocolate Spice Bread
One of America's finest chefs and restauranteurs, Michel Richard was trained early on in France as a pastry maker. His training paid off handsomely. Today, he owns restaurants nationwide, including Citrus in Los Angeles and Citronelle, with locations in Santa Barbara, Washington, D.C., and other cities.
"My favorite desserts are chocolate, he says. "All my life, I have eaten spice bread a few times a year, but by adding chocolate, I could eat it every day. It is the best."
1 3/4 cups unbleached flour
1 1/2 teaspoons
baking powder 1 teaspoon
baking soda 1 teaspoon
ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon
ground ginger 1/2 teaspoon
ground anise seeds 1/4 teaspoon
curry powder pinch of salt 2/3 cup honey
2/3 cup
cocoa powder 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons orange juice
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Coat an 8x4-inch no-stick loaf pan with no-stick spray and set aside.
Into a medium bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, anise seeds, curry powder and salt.
In a large saucepan, combine the honey, cocoa powder and orange juice. Stir over low heat until well-mixed. Set aside to cool.
Mix the eggs into the chocolate mixture. Gradually incorporate the flour mixture into the chocolate mixture and mix well.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Unmold the bread onto a wire rack and allow to cool.
As prepared, each serving contains 110 calories, 0.8g total fat, 13mg cholesterol, 117mg sodium, 25.1g total carbohydrate and 2.6g protein.