Chocolate Zucchini Bread

By RobinPD

A few notes about this recipe. Grated zucchini, from zucchini picked fresh from the garden, should be rather wet, which is what makes this bread so wonderfully moist. We only make zucchini bread in season, summer and early fall, otherwise the zucchini you buy from the store is likely shipped from far away and is too dry by the time it gets to you. The zucchini from our garden is so heavy with moisture that we have to drain it over a sieve after grating it. If for some reason your grated zucchini is not moist, your zucchini bread will not be moist. In that case you may need to add some water to the recipe, or sprinkle some water over the grated zucchini until it feels moist.

If you want, you can toss some chocolate chips into the batter. I've done that and don't think it really adds anything to this zucchini bread, it's chocolatey enough on its own. But for some people, you can never have enough chocolate, right?

This recipe makes 2 loaves, you can easily divide in in half to make just one loaf. The recipe calls for 4 cups of grated zucchini, which will yield particularly moist loaves. I've made it with 3 cups, which was also very good, just not as sublime as with 4 cups.

Ingredients

• 4 cups grated zucchini (from about a pound and a half of zucchini)
• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa (use natural unsweetened cocoa, NOT Dutch processed)
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter (12 Tbsp or 1 1/2 sticks), melted
• 1/2 teaspoon instant coffee granules
• 1/2 teaspoons almond extract

Details

Servings 2
Preparation time 10mins
Cooking time 80mins
Adapted from simplyrecipes.com

Preparation

Step 1

Place the freshly grated zucchini in a sieve over a bowl to catch any excess moisture as it drains, while you work on prepping the other ingredients and preparing the recipe.

Preheat oven to 350°F, with a rack in the middle. Grease two 9x5-inch loaf pans with baking spray or butter.

Vigorously whisk together the flour, unsweetened cocoa, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Whisk until there are no more clumps and the ingredients are well combined.

In a separate large bowl, beat together the sugar and eggs until smooth, about a minute. You can do this with an electric mixer on medium speed, or by hand with a wooden spoon. (I'm lazy and use a mixer but it's easy enough to do by hand.) Add the melted butter, instant coffee granules, and vanilla and beat until smooth.

Mix the shredded zucchini into the sugar egg mixture. Add the flour to the zucchini mixture in 3 additions, stirring to combine after each addition.

Work quickly, and divide the batter between the two prepared loaf pans. (Work quickly because once the dry ingredients have mixed with the wet ingredients, the leavening has begun.) Place into the oven. Bake for 50 minutes at 350°F, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean and easily. Remove to a rack. Let cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then run a blunt knife around the edges to separate the bread from the pan. Remove from the loaf pans and let cool completely on a rack.

Makes 2 loaves.