Ahhhhh, the comfort of chocolate, but zucchini? Yes, this is another healthy recipe using hidden ingredients, frozen shredded zucchini and my favorite white whole wheat flour, King Arthur and yogurt. Last week I shared how I’m freezing shredded zucchini for various recipes. I thawed my quart size bag of zucchini for this fantastic recipe. See the tutorial on freezing your bumper crop of zucchini here. You can make this quick bread anytime you crave chocolate without running to the nearest garden.
Frozen zucchini, thawed 24 hours and squeezed dry, like spinach. Loosely measure 3 cups for this recipe.
Chocolate Zucchini Bread (makes 2 small loaves or 1 large)
- 2 cups white whole wheat flour (I use King Arthur) or unbleached all-purpose
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 6 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt (sour cream works too)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 3 cups grated zucchini (see how I use frozen shredded zucchini thawed 24 hours and then squeezed dry here)
- 1/2 cup mini or regularchocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350. Greaseloaf pan(s). Mix flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and cocoa in a bowl and whisk to combine. Beat oil, sugars and eggs until combined well. Add vanilla and yogurt. Gently stir in shredded zucchini. Add flour combinatation and mix until combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Divide batter between two pans. Let batter stand for ten minutes. Bake at 350 for 50 to 60 minutes. My loaves were done at one hour. Check the center with a toothpick. Remove them when the tooth pick comes out clean. Cool for ten minutes in pan. Remove and transfer to cooling rack. Cool completely before freezing.
Quick breads make terrific gifts for teachers, friends, relatives or “just thinking of you.” Check out pretty packaging here.
Who would you give this bread to?
This is linked to Finer Things Friday.
