Zingerman's Chocolate 3: Hot Cocoa Coffee Cake

Zingerman's Chocolate Lady Duff returns with yet another seasonal suggestion from the Midwest:

The hot cocoa cake is one of a triumvirate of unbelievably good coffee cakes made by Zingerman’s Bakehouse. Available all year long, this is (in my opinion) the not-to-be-missed chocolate goodie at the Bakehouse.

Neither as well known as the Magic Brownie nor as flashy as the Hunka Burnin’ Love chocolate cake, the hot cocoa cake is easy to overlook. But from one chocolate lover to another I tell you: This is it – the must-have chocolate dessert at the Bakehouse.

I love the hot cocoa coffeecake for three reasons:

1. It is the ultimate day-night dessert. You can definitely get away with ordering a slice in the morning to go with your coffee, but you can also serve it warm with fresh whipped cream to discerning dinner guests. It is unassuming, yet impressive.

2. It’s got body, baby! It has all the texture of a moist, dense coffeecake with big chunks of chocolate baked throughout. Let me tell you, running into one of those chunks is pretty fabulous.

3. It isn’t just sweet, it is flavorful. The Bakehouse uses great ingredients like real butter, fresh eggs, natural cocoa powder (from Scharffen Berger), real vanilla and a dash of espresso to give this cake lots of great flavor.

The good news is that if you try the hot cocoa cake and love it, you can try the Bakehouse’s other great coffee cakes, too – Sourcream, Lemon Poppyseed, Gingerbread (fall/winter) and Summer Fling (spring/summer). All the coffee cakes are available by the slice at the Deli, Roadhouse or Bakehouse and available in a cute mini (nosher) bundt cake or a full (fresser) bundt cake online at www.zingermans.com!