Chocolate Cinnamon Bread

Chocolate Cinnamon Bread Yield: 2 loaves For the Chocolate Batter: 24 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature 3 c granulated sugar 5 lg eggs, at room temperature 2 c all-purpose flour 1-1/4 c dutch processed cocoa 1 tbsp ground cinnamon 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp baking soda 1 c buttermilk 1/4 c water 1 tsp pure vanilla extract For the Cocoa Spice Topping: 1/4 c granulated sugar 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp dutch processed cocoa Pinch of ground ginger Pinch of ground cloves 1/4 c sparkle sugar (for decorating) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour two 9"x5"x3" loaf pans and set aside. Beat together the butter and sugar in an electric mixer until light and creamy, around 5 minutes. Then add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until each is fully incorporated. You may need to scrape down the sides of the bowl a few times to get them fully mixed in. In a medium-sized bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, salt, baking powder and baking soda. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, water and vanilla. With your mixer on low speed, begin adding the contents of each bowl to the butter mixture, alternating between the two until your mixture is fully blended, but not overly whipped. Then split your batter between the two pans. If your batter is slightly uneven, you can lightly shake the pan to even out the tops. For the topping, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon, cocoa powder, ginger and cloves. Then evenly layer the decorating sugar over your batter, followed by the spice mixture. Bake loaves for 45-50 minutes. Cool pans on a wire rack until completely cool, then remove loaves from pans.