DOUBLE CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI LOAF
If you’ve ever planted zucchini in your garden, you know how prolific those plants are and may have an abundance of zucchini to use up. Or you are looking for ways to sneak vegetables into your kids diet (big and little kids 😉).
This double chocolate zucchini loaf is an amazing and scrumptious way to accomplish both! The addition of freshly grated zucchini gives this loaf a rich, moist and tender texture without adding a weird vegetable flavour and we all know doubling up chocolate is NEVER a bad thing.
If you are leery of baking with or even consuming zucchini, please know you are not alone. I’ve only jumped on the zucchini train in the past 2 years and now am wondering what I was waiting for.
This recipe’s batter also works very well in cupcake or muffin form.
Makes two loaves.
INGREDIENTS
2 cups flour
1 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature (place un-cracked eggs in a bowl of slightly warm water for 3-5 minutes to speed up the process if necessary)
8 tbsp butter, melted
2/3 cup vegetable or canola oil
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups packed, shredded zucchini
2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (plus a bit more to sprinkle on top)
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Add all of the dry ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl and mix well.
In a separate large mixing bowl, beat the eggs, butter, oil, and vanilla together well. Add the shredded zucchini to this mixture and stir to combine.
Stir the dry ingredients and chocolate chips into the wet ingredients with a spoon just until combined. (DON’T overmix, some dry floury spots are ok)
Pour the batter into lightly greased bread loaf pans.
Sprinkle a small handful of chocolate chips over the top of the loaf and bake in the oven for 55-65 minutes* or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
*35-40 minutes if using cupcake/muffin tins
Remove loaf from the oven and allow to rest in the pan for a few minutes before removing from the loaf pan to a baking rack to cool completely before cutting into the loaf.
