This Chocolate Irish Barmbrack Bread is a rendition of a traditional holiday tea loaf! It’s full of semi-sweet chocolate, raisins, and topped with melted chocolate too! This bread is not overly sweet or sugary, but the flavors of the fruit and chocolate shine through! It’s a perfect bread to share during the holidays or whenever you want a sweet treat.
Bread Inspiration
I first heard about Barmbrack Bread on one of my favorite shows, The Great British Baking Show. Andrew Smyth, one of the contestants, made a Chocolate Barmbrack bread. He also explained that it is a traditional Irish bread served on holidays. The most traditional holiday it is served on is Halloween, but it’s also included in other holiday celebrations as well.
Since my heritage is about 80% Irish, I was really excited to try out this recipe! I took inspiration from the recipe on the show, and of course, added chocolate to my barmbrack too.
Chocolate Barmbrack Bread Ingredients
- Unsweetened almond milk
- Unsalted butter or coconut oil
- Active dry yeast
- Turbinado sugar
- Eggs
- Unbleached all-purpose flour
- Pumpkin pie spice
- Ground cinnamon
- Ground cloves
- Fine sea salt
- Raisins
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips
The combination of spices, fruit, and chocolate is really so delicious in this bread!
Ingredients Substitutions
I have a few ingredients substitutions in case you can’t find ingredients or need to customize the recipe. I have heard that Pumpkin pie spice can be hard to find, so if you aren’t able to use it, combine equal amounts of your other spices to make up for it!
This recipe can be done dairy-free if you switch out the butter for coconut oil and buy a dairy-free semi-sweet chocolate chip brand, like Enjoy Life. Almond milk is dairy-free, but you can also use oat milk and coconut milk. Of course, if you don’t have a dairy issue, plain dairy milk will work too!
Yeast Recommendations
Enriched dough or bread with lots of fruit or chocolate always takes more time to rise and needs a strong yeast. That’s why I used Red Star Active Dry Yeast for this recipe. It’s been one of my favorite brands for a while because it works in every bread I’ve tried. Another brand I like is Saf Instant Yeast. It’s a good brand too that I use often.
If you decide to use instant yeast, you don’t need to proof your yeast for 5 minutes before. You can combine it with the dry ingredients in your dough. Instant yeast is somewhat of a time saver, but I like the classic active dry yeast more often.
Barmbrack Making Equipment
- Stand Mixer with dough attachment
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Large mixing bowl
- Spatula
- 9-inch cake pan
- Aluminum foil
- Small microwavable bowl
I almost always use a stand mixer when I’m kneading my bread dough because it takes less time and is less messy. However, if you chose to knead this dough by hand, it will take closer to 10-12 minutes of kneading for the dough to have enough gluten structure. Or, if you want to buy an inexpensive stand mixer, check out the link I provided! It’s not as nice as a KitchenAid, but it still works well for the price!
I use a 9-Inch cake pan for this recipe because I wanted this bread to be perfectly round. But you can always just put the dough on a greased baking sheet. Just shape the dough like in the instructions, and it should still come out in a round shape.
I didn’t really plan for it, but because of the pan that I used, this bread ended up looking like a chocolate glazed donut! 🍩
Chocolate Melting Tip
Melting chocolate can be somewhat of a pain because if you overheat it, it seizes up and becomes hard to work with. That’s why I always melt it at 30-second intervals in the microwave. Then I can keep close attention to how well it’s melting.
Alternatively, you can use a double boiler to melt it on the stove. It would just be more time-consuming. But it’s really whatever you prefer!

I hope you love the Chocolate Irish Barmbrack Bread! Another one of my Great British Bake Off inspired recipes you should try is my Chocolate and Almond Babka! It’s another delicious bread that includes lots of chocolate.

Chocolate Irish Barmbrack Bread
Equipment
- Stand Mixer with dough attachment
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Large mixing bowl
- Spatula
- 9-inch cake pan
- Aluminum foil
- Small microwavable bowl
Ingredients
- 3/4 Cup Unsweetened almond milk 90 degrees F.
- 2 Tbsp Unsalted butter melted or coconut oil
- 2 1/4 tsp Active dry yeast
- 3 Tbsp Turbinado sugar
- 1 Large Egg at room temperature
- 3 Cup Unbleached all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp Pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 tsp Ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp Ground cloves
- 1/2 tsp Fine sea salt
- 1/3 Cup Raisins
- 1/2 Cup Semi-sweet chocolate chips
Egg wash:
- 1 Large Egg white
- 1 Tbsp Water
Chocolate drizzle:
- 3 Tbsp Semi-Sweet Chocolate chips
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the warm milk and the sugar and mix well, until the sugar dissolves. Sprinkle the yeast over top of the milk mixture and let it stand until bubbly, about 5 minutes.
- Add the egg, melted butter or coconut oil, 2 cups of flour, the spices, and the salt and mix until combined.
- Continue adding the remaining flour, mixing with a spatula until a sticky dough starts to form.
- Using a dough attachment, knead the dough for 4 minutes, then add the raisins and chocolate chips and knead for 2 more minutes.
- Transfer the dough into a clean, greased bowl and cover it with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel.
- Place the dough in a warm, draft-free place to proof for 45 minutes or until doubled in size.
- Once the dough has risen, punch it down and shape it into a round loaf, and place it in a heavily greased 9-inch cake pan.
- Cover with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap and proof it in a warm, draft-free place for 35-minutes.
- Near the end of rising time, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
- Lightly brush the dough with the beaten egg white mixture.
- Bake the bread in a preheated oven for 15 minutes and then carefully cover with aluminum foil, then bake for an additional 20-25 minutes. When done, the loaf will be deep golden brown on top, and it should sound hollow when you tap it.
- Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes before removing to a wire rack to continue cooling.
- In a small microwavable bowl, melt the semi-sweet chocolate at 30-second intervals until the chocolate is smooth enough to drizzle. Then drizzle evenly across the top of the slightly cooled loaf.
Notes
- If you use instant yeast in the recipe, you don’t have to proof it in the beginning just add it in with your dry ingredients.
- If you knead the dough by hand it will take closer to 10-12 minutes for the dough to be the right structure.
- If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, combine equal amounts of your other spices to replace it.
- Be careful not to overheat the chocolate because it will not drizzle if it overheats.
- Store this bread wrapped in plastic wrap or aluminum foil in a room temperature atmosphere. It should last for up to 3-4 days.

Yet another delicious treat by you Alyssa ! Looks so good 🙂
Thank you, Dane! 🙂
Oh my goodness, this looks amaaaaaazing!
Thank you, Valerie!
This reminds me of Irish soda bread, but this recipe has more of a bread consistency and not a cake/biscuit consistency. It looks so delicious with the addition of chocolate!
Thanks, Cindy! It is slightly like Irish soda bread but even better!
Way back in my college dorm days, one of my roommate’s mom used to make something similar to this. The only times we ever cleaned the apartment was when we knew she was coming around. Amazing how food can bring back such memories.
Yes, you are right! Food definitely brings back memories! I hope you’ll get a chance to try this bread. 🙂
The addition of chocolate makes this irresistible for me!
Thanks, Sue! Me too!
As always, your food looks amazing! Can’t wait to try this one!
Thank you, Jessica! So glad you’re enjoying my recipes!
We tried this last night…SOOOO GOOD!
the ingredients are easy to find, and I can replace with what I have will try this soon it can feed a lot of friends!
I am so excited to try this recipe! I miss tea cakes and thats what this reminds me of on a grand scale. Thanks for yet another amazing recipe!
Thank you, Lottie! I’m always happy to hear your feedback! 😊
This looks super delicious and it’s something I’ve never heard of before! Very unique and different!
Thank you, Arica! I’m glad I could introduce you to a new recipe! 😊
What a fun treat – chocolate & raisins, delicious combo. BTW, the Great British Baking show is my absolute favorite baking show ever!
Thanks, Christina! It’s nice to connect with a fellow Bake Off fan! 🙂
I have never heard of Barmbrack Bread. This sounds amazingly delicious! The fruit and chocolate–yes! Total yum!
Thank you, Gina! I’m glad you found my recipe!
This looks so delicious! I’ve been looking for something new to try – will definitely be making this!
Thank you! I’d love to hear how it turns out for you!
I had never even heard of Barmbrack Bread before, but it sounds delightful! My hubby loves chocolate (and I love carbs), so I’ll have to try making this sometime. Thanks for sharing (and providing some ingredients substitutions – super helpful)!
Thank you, Briana! I’m so glad that this bread is something both you and your husband will enjoy! 🙂
Looks very tempting! Cant wait to try this
Thank you, Julia! Enjoy!
Chocolate and bread sound like an amazing combination. Can’t wait to make this with my family.
Thanks, Kalu! I hope you enjoy it!
This is perfect! Would you like to share it in this post I was talking about for Christmas traditional desserts? I didn’t know which one was specific Irish and this sounds amazing, similar to the Italian Panettone, so perfect for Christmas. Please let me know what you think. Thank you and craving, as always, when you post a new dessert!:)))
Thank you, Mihaela! I would love to include this recipe in your Christmas traditions article! It has a similar taste to panettone! I’ll also be sharing a recipe for that soon too. 🙂
I’m of Irish descent too, so I’m happy to learn about Barmbrack bread! And you know I love bread and chocolate – could there be any more perfect combination? This looks like such a delicious treat, during the holidays or any time really!
Looks reeeeeeaaaaaaalll good!
Thank you, Jonathan!
Mmmm yum! I watch The Great British Baking Show and Andrew was my favorite baker from that season too! I can’t wait to try out this bread for the holidays!
That’s so cool that you know who I’m talking about! Thanks, Sarah! I hope you enjoy this recipe. 😄
I have never heard of this bread and, tbh, any bread would be delicious in my book. However, this sounds like a whole new level.
Thank you, Elise! I’m so glad you like this recipe!
Omg ! I love chocolate and i will try your recipe this week-end. Thanks for sharing it looks tasty
This looks sooooo good! I can’t wait to try it!
Thank you, Monica! Enjoy!
This sounds great! Definitely on my list of things to try 🙂
Thank you, Sharon! I hope you try it soon and let me know how it goes! 🙂
Looks gorgeous with delicious ingredients. Thanks for sharing – will try.
Great recipe idea. I’m big into Irish soda bread, and this looks tasty.
It’s similar to that, Brian! I’m sure you will enjoy this! 🙂
This seems like an absolutely perfect dessert!
It is, Mahnoor! Thank you! 🙂
Mmmh looks delicious, reminds me of donuts..
This is such a fun and different recipe – not something you see everyday! Especially LOVED the chocolate!
Wow this looks delicious! I’ll be adding it to my holiday baking list this year!
Thank you, Shelby! I hope you enjoy it!
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This looks so good! Especially with that chocolate drizzle on top!
This looks so delicious, I would love to try..