Some recipes are worth keeping in the family for a long time. This one first appeared in the Patriot Alliance Messenger, the 4Patriots print newsletter, and it has been pulled off the shelf every fall since. Frank's Mocha Bread is a quick bread, which puts it right between a cake and a muffin: dense, moist, lightly spiced with cinnamon, with real coffee baked into the batter and mini chocolate chips in every slice.
It is a natural for a cool-weather brunch, and it is even better served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. But the reason it has lasted is simpler than that. Nearly everything in it is already in a well-stocked pantry. Flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, a jar of instant coffee. The eggs, butter and sour cream are the only fresh ingredients, and every one of them has a shelf-stable swap listed below.
Coffee earns its place in any long-term food supply for the same reason it earns its place on the counter every morning: it keeps a hard day feeling normal. If you have been rotating coffee out of your stockpile and wondering what to do with it, bake it into this loaf.
Ingredients
Makes one 9 x 5 loaf, about 12 slices. Prep time about 15 minutes, bake time 65 to 70 minutes.
| Amount | Ingredient | Pantry swap |
|---|---|---|
| 2¼ cups | All-purpose flour | Swap ½ cup for whole wheat flour for a heartier loaf |
| 2 teaspoons | Ground cinnamon | |
| 2 teaspoons | Baking powder | |
| ½ teaspoon | Salt | |
| 3 tablespoons | Freedom Joe Survival Coffee | Any instant coffee granules |
| 1 tablespoon | Hot water | |
| ¾ cup | Sugar | |
| ¾ cup, packed | Brown sugar | ¾ cup sugar plus 1 tablespoon molasses |
| ⅓ cup | Butter, softened | ⅓ cup shortening or neutral oil |
| 1½ cups | Sour cream | Plain yogurt, or 1¼ cups milk (fresh or reconstituted powdered) plus 1 tablespoon white vinegar, rested 5 minutes |
| 2 | Large eggs | 2 tablespoons powdered egg whisked with 4 tablespoons water |
| 1 cup | Mini chocolate chips | Regular chocolate chips, roughly chopped |
| 2 tablespoons (optional) | Mini chocolate chips, for the top |
Directions
- Heat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 x 5 loaf pan, or line it with parchment paper with the ends hanging over the sides so you can lift the loaf out.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking powder and salt.
- In a small bowl, stir the coffee into the hot water until it dissolves completely.
- In a large bowl, beat the sugar, brown sugar and butter together until well combined. Add the sour cream and eggs and beat until creamy. Beat in the coffee mixture.
- Gradually beat in the flour mixture, just until no dry streaks remain. Do not overmix; a few lumps are fine. Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the extra 2 tablespoons of mini chips over the top, if you like.
- Bake 65 to 70 minutes, until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. If the top is browning too fast around the 45-minute mark, lay a piece of foil loosely over it.
- Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Remove from the pan and cool completely on the rack before slicing.
Cooking without power? This loaf bakes in a Dutch oven over coals. Grease the pot, pour in the batter, cover and set it over a small bed of coals with more coals piled on the lid. Rotate the pot and lid a quarter turn every 15 minutes and start checking for doneness at 50 minutes.
Storage and Variations
Like most quick breads, this one is better on day two, once the flavors have had a night to settle.
- Store it tightly wrapped at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the refrigerator for a week.
- Freeze it whole or in slices, wrapped in plastic and then foil, for up to 3 months. Thaw slices on the counter or warm them in a 300°F oven for 8 to 10 minutes.
- Build a mix jar. Layer the dry ingredients (flour through salt, plus the sugars and the coffee) in a quart jar and tape the wet ingredients and baking directions to the lid. It keeps for months in the pantry and makes a welcome gift.
A few ways to change things up:
- Mocha walnut: swap half the chocolate chips for ½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans.
- Double chocolate: replace ¼ cup of the flour with unsweetened cocoa powder.
- Muffins: divide the batter among 18 lined muffin cups and bake at 350°F for 22 to 25 minutes.
Pour a Cup
Slice it thick, pour a cup of coffee and take a few quiet minutes before the day gets going. Recipes like this one are a reminder that being prepared is not only about what is on the shelf. It is about knowing how to turn what is on the shelf into something that brings people to the table.
If you bake it, send your favorite pantry recipes our way and you might see one featured in a future Recipe of the Month.
The coffee in this recipe is Freedom Joe Survival Coffee, a dark roast that stores for the long haul and brews when the grid is down. Any instant coffee you keep in your pantry will work just as well.
