By Fourth of July in Grand Island, Nebraska, and the whole town smells like charcoal and gunpowder, which is the most American smell there is, and I mean that as a compliment. We do the Fourth the same way every year: Dave grills, Gayle brings the baked beans, I make everything else, and the kids eat until they cannot move and then somehow find the energy to run around with sparklers until it gets dark enough for fireworks.
This year the menu was: hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill, my potato salad (mustardy, not white, this is not negotiable), coleslaw, baked beans from Gayle, corn on the cob, watermelon, and the chocolate sheet cake, because the Fourth of July is a birthday and birthdays get cake. America is two hundred and forty years old and she gets cake. That is the rule.
The whole family was here. Dave, me, all four kids, and Gayle. Larry drove in from a haul and showed up around noon, still in his work clothes, smelling like diesel and road dust. He ate a hamburger standing up because Larry has never sat down for a meal voluntarily in his life. He is sixty-three and still hauling, which worries me, but Larry does not listen to worry the way I do not listen to Gayle when she tells me the carrots are too thick. We are a family of people who do not listen to each other and somehow it works.
The fireworks were at the county fairgrounds. We drove over in two cars and sat on blankets in the grass. Josie sat in my lap and covered her ears at the loud ones. Tyler counted each explosion like he was keeping score. Justin watched silently, and I watched Justin watch, because the light on his face was something I wanted to remember. Amber leaned against Dave and he put his arm around her, and she let him, and that was maybe the best part of the whole night.
Driving home, the kids fell asleep one by one, like dominoes in car seats. Dave carried Josie inside. I carried the leftover cake. Gayle said good night from her car and drove home, which I worried about because it was eleven p.m. and she is seventy-three, but she texted me when she got home, which she only started doing because I begged her, and the text said Home. Stop worrying. I did not stop worrying. I never stop worrying. But the cake was good and the fireworks were beautiful and my family was all in one place, and that is a kind of firework too.
The chocolate sheet cake is the one thing I never skip, not for the Fourth, not for anything. America is two hundred and forty-something years old and she gets chocolate, end of discussion. This triple-chocolate quick bread is the version I come back to when I need something that slices easy for a crowd, travels well to the fairgrounds, and still tastes like somebody put real love into it — because I did. I carried the leftovers in myself, and that should tell you everything you need to know about how good it is.
Triple-Chocolate Quick Bread
Prep Time: 15 min | Cook Time: 55 min | Total Time: 1 hr 10 min | Servings: 12
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, divided
- 1/3 cup hot fudge topping, warmed
Instructions
- Preheat and prep. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan and set aside.
- Mix dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until well combined.
- Mix wet ingredients. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, then whisk in the buttermilk, vegetable oil, and vanilla extract.
- Combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir just until no dry streaks remain — do not overmix. Fold in 3/4 cup of the chocolate chips.
- Fill the pan. Pour half the batter into the prepared loaf pan. Drizzle the warmed hot fudge topping evenly over the batter. Pour the remaining batter on top and smooth with a spatula. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup chocolate chips over the top.
- Bake. Bake for 50–55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Do not overbake.
- Cool. Let the bread cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing. It slices much cleaner when fully cooled.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 340 | Protein: 5g | Fat: 15g | Carbs: 49g | Fiber: 3g | Sodium: 230mg