Ah, Sunday brunch. It’s an excuse to eat, and cook, something different and extravagant. Like, maybe, a chocolate quick bread. Then … add a decadent glaze, one with a punch of coffee flavor and an aftertaste of sweetness. And, to make it even more tempting, it should be a treat that’s simple and quick to prepare. Are you drooling yet?

The uncomplicated chocolate bread recipe I chose was already vegan. I adapted it to high altitude by reducing the leaveners and adding more non-dairy milk. To make the bread brunch-sized, I baked it as mini cakes instead of a loaf. The festive pan I used has cavities with a fall theme. (It’s hard to see in the picture, but the upper cake is acorn-shaped.) Sadly, the glaze masks the intricacies of the cake form. But that glaze — it’s so delicious that I forgave it for hiding my artistic creations. Cheers to brunch!

Chocolate Brunch Bread with Cafe au Lait Glaze inspired by Easy Vegan Chocolate Bread

for the mini breads
1.25 cups non-dairy milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup + 1 TBS vegan brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
pinch fine sea salt
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup agave syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
for the glaze
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 TBS + 1 tsp strongly brewed coffee, cooled
2 tsp non-dairy milk
pinch fine sea salt

Preheat the oven to 350F. Combine the milk and apple cider vinegar then set aside to curdle. Grease mini cake pan cavities with shortening then dust with cocoa powder. In a large bowl, whisk together cocoa powder, flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. In a medium bowl, whisk milk mixture together with oil, agave, and vanilla. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir until the batter is just smooth. Divide the batter evenly between the mini cake pans.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of a mini bread comes out clean or with a few crumbs. Let the pan cool on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes before removing the mini breads. Let the breads cool on a wire rack while you prepare the glaze. For the glaze, stir together the powdered sugar, coffee, 2 tsp milk and salt. Drizzle it over the cooled breads.

Until next time, happy baking!