I make a lot of loaf pan chocolate cakes these days, but Brownstone Front Cake is the OG chocolate loaf cake. According to Southern Living, the recipe first appeared in a little pamphlet associated with the 1895 Cotton State and International Expo. Referenced in many a historical cookbook, it is a rectangular shaped chocolate cake named for the front of a brownstone.
Brownstone Front Cake Variations
There are different versions of Brownstone Front Cake. This one is adapted from Jeane Anderson who adapted it from Ladies' Home Journal and The American Heritage Cookbook. Some recipes call for whipped egg whites, others (like this) use whole eggs. Some call for buttermilk, while others call for sour cream. This one needs sour cream for richness, so be sure to use full fat sour cream rather than light. I haven't ever tested it with whole milk yogurt, but that might actually work.
Loaf Pan
A 9x5 inch loaf pan works perfectly for this cake. It seems like 9x5 used to be the standard size and 8 ½ by 4 ½ inch are more popular now. For this cake, try to find a 9x5 because the cake is already pretty deep and using a smaller loaf pan will just make it deeper and it will take longer to cook.
Crumb Texture and Frosting
There are 2 oz of unsweetened chocolate in the crumb so it's not super chocolatey, but it still has a lot of flavor and moisture from the brown sugar. I did increase the salt a bit from the original. As for the frosting, it originally called for 1 oz melted unsweetened chocolate, 1 cup of powdered sugar, 1 oz of butter, a little milk and vanilla. I changed it to a basic cocoa powder frosting with a slightly higher yield. If you use a good quality cocoa powder, the cocoa powder frosting is just as good as the melted chocolate version.
Recipe
Classic Brownstone Front Cake
Ingredients
- 1 cup boiling water, divided use (230 grams)
- 2 oz unsweetened chocolate, chopped (56 grams)
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour (230 grams)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt (Morton kosher)
- 4 oz unsalted butter, softened (114 grams)
- 1 ¾ cups firmly packed brown sugar (350 grams)
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- ½ cup sour cream (120 grams)
Chocolate Frosting
- 4 tablespoons softened butter, unsalted or salted) (56 grams)
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar (180 grams)
- ⅛ teaspoon salt plus a pinch or two as needed
- ⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (30 grams)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2-4 tablespoons whole milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 °F. Grease a 9x5 inch metal loaf pan and line with a rectangle of parchment paper for easy removal.
- In a microwave-safe 2‑cup measuring cup or saucepan, bring ½ cup of the water to a boil. Stir in the chopped chocolate and let stand until the chocolate softens. Stir until melted and smooth. Add another ½ cup of water or room temperature coffee to help it cool quicker (total liquid 1 cup)
- Sift the flour, then whisk together with baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter until creamy. Add the brown sugar and continue beating for about 3 minutes on high, scraping down the bowl as needed.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing for about 30 seconds after each. Then beat in the vanilla extract.
- Add the sour cream to the chocolate mixture and just give it a little stir. No need to completely blend it, as it will all come together.
- Add the chocolate mixture and dry flour mixture alternately in 3 parts, stirring until everything is blended, then beat with the stand mixer on medium for about 1 minute. Do not overbeat, the goal is just to blend it evenly.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake on the center rack at 325 °F for one hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. You may need up to an hour and 15 minutes depending on your oven and the shape of the loaf pan.
- Let the cake cool in the pan for about 15 minutes. Then invert the loaf onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Frosting
- Beat together softened butter and half of the powdered sugar until smooth. Beat in the cocoa powder and vanilla. Add milk and remaining powdered sugar, beating and scraping side of bowl until smooth and fluffy.
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