Mocha Zucchini Bread
It's zucchini season and I don't like zoodles, and I've made Sol's zucchini pancakes several times, and now I have tomatoes I'll make that fresh gratin I like so well. I have a couple of batches of zucchini candy in the dehydrator, and haven't made zucchini bread yet this year, so it was time.
I'd been "saving" a recipe to try, a chocolate zucchini bread with chocolate chips and a bit of espresso, my kind of flavors. The only problem is that the recipe specifically said 9x5 pans, 2 of them. I used 9x5 pans and my zucchini bread is only this tall:
I TRY to always follow the recipe the first time, and so, in spite of my misgivings in noting the amounts of ingredients, I used that size pan. Next time I'll use the next smaller size and get a taller loaf!. I might actually follow the directions next time too, I was trying to simultaneously make zucchini bread, blanch corn for the freezer and make supper, LOL, so I missed the part about creaming the butter and sugar, adding the zucchini and then mixing in thirds into the dry ingredients. Yeah, didn't happen. I dumped everything into the bowl and stirred. Turned out fine, it's a quick bread. Good thing, it's not so fussy about how it's handled, LOL.
That little bit of espresso powder added a nice little undefinable flavor to the chocolate, and the mini chips I used weren't really noticeable, but added to the layers of chocolate. I was going to glaze it, but decided that wasn't necessary.
Gotta eat your veggies, you know.
Annie
Comments (13)
seagrass_gw Cape Cod
6 years ago
PROLars/J. Robert Scott
6 years agoRelated Discussions
Can I mix eggplant and zucchini for bread and butter pickles?
Comments (2)Good idea safety-wise or quality-wise? For safety, the issue when making substitutions isn't really one of texture but of pH of the various foods and the density of the foods. If I recall correctly they both fall in about the same pH range of 5.5-6.0 but I can't access my food pH chart right now to be sure as it is off-line. Since it is a BBB recipe it should be safe even with the substitutions but I do think it would be best to avoid such substitutions in the future. For quality concerns then IMO eggplant tends to be softer, less dense, have more water content, than zucchini. So I wouldn't choose to add it. I'd just make up what I had enough of the zucchini to make. If the eggplant slices go mushy and discolor you can always pitch them after the jar is opened. Dave...See MoreZucchini Bread Pudding?
Comments (4)Zucchini bread will probably fall apart and get mushy in bread pudding. It'll be a lot better if you put something airy and glutinous with it. Best bet would be a braided challah because of the long strands and airy crumb. Don't cut the challah too small--let it give some structure and something for the zucchini bread to cling to. And, whatever you do, don't stir it a lot or you'll have zucchini bread soup. You can soak the challah in the custard, but your best bet, for your star ingredient, would be to fill up your pan with the breads, as densely as you can, so the zucchini bread doesn't dissolve, pour on the custard/flavoring mix, and add as much bread as you can. You can press at this point. Just don't squash it too hard. A plastic plate to keep the bread down would be better than a real weight. For the custard, you're right to cut the sugar. If you want it to be a sweet dessert maybe add a little, but it shouldn't require it to be good, especially if you're planning a hard sauce. You could also add some dried fruit to add sweetness, instead. Soak it in the custard for an hour before you mix with the bread. Or you could macerate the dried fruit in liqueur and cook off the alcohol. I haven't tried this, but it occurs to me that an alternative to a traditional bread pudding that might work is to slice the zucchini bread maybe half the height of the pan, dry the slices, then line the pan in two layers of slices and pour the custard over. Let the custard settle and soak in and add more to fill the pan, and maybe another round if it needs it. That would be a lot less stirring and squishing, and the large pieces would have more integrity. More like making a French toast pie. If you want to add fruit, nuts, etc., do it between the layers of bread. Good luck!...See MoreZucchini bread
Comments (1)It's done, it tastes good, but it isn't pretty. It didn't want to come out of the pan. The experiment with the rest of the zucchini was a hit! An egg, a little salt & pepper, and a little flour to bind it, and some olive oil to cook it in....See MoreTweaking my zucchini bread to make it more healthy
Comments (13)here's a very good recipe for zucchini bread. I made 6 large muffins and 1 small loaf pan with this recipe. Ingredients 3 cups grated fresh zucchini about 4 zucchini 3 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking soda 2 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (I used china cassia) 1 1/2 cup granulated sugar 2 large eggs 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt 3/4 cup butter (melted 30 seconds in microwave) 1 cup chopped pecans optional (I use sunflower seeds) Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease two 8x4-inch loaf pans. nonstick spray works well. Set aside. Place the grated zucchini in colander in the sink while you continue. Mix sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt, and butter in a large bowl. Add flour, baking soda, and cinnamon, and whisk in until just combined. Stir in grated zucchini until just incorporated. Add nuts, if using, and stir in until just combined. Divide batter between prepared loaf pans. Bake for 40-60 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.*** (25 min in my convection oven) Cool in pans for 10 minutes. Run a butter knife around the edges; remove zucchini bread onto wire racks. Dave...See MoreUser
6 years agoannie1992
6 years agoUser
6 years ago
Jasdip
6 years agoannie1992
6 years agoseagrass_gw Cape Cod
6 years ago
Solsthumper
6 years agoriverrat1
6 years agoannie1992
6 years agolast modified: 6 years agoRiverrat, is that you? Man, I've missed you! It might be zucchini, but it's sure not health food, it's definitely candy! (grin) You'll need a dehydrator, and it comes out like gummy worms. I've never tried to make it in the oven because it just takes so many hours. The kids get a big charge out of it, getting all their friends to sample it and guess what it's made of. They never guess, of course, and then the grandkids spring it on them that they're eating zucchini, LOL. This batch was cherry-limeade flavor, the dark cherry seems to be the favorite so far.
The recipe comes from Linda Lou at Harvest, she doesn't post there any more, but she gave me this recipe years ago:
Zucchini Candy
10 cups peeled diced zucchini 1/2 inch cubes
( I use "worms" about 3 inches long and 1/12 inch thick and wide. The little dice would be good in muffins, though.
3 cups water
2 pkgs. unsweetened Koolaid
2 1/2 cups sugar
Peel zucchini, dice, removing seeds. Mix the liquid syrup together.
Add zucchini. Bring to a boil and them simmer for 25 min. Drain.
Put on dehydrator trays. Dry 14 hours at 125 degrees. Turn pieces
over and dry another 4 hours. This will feel dry and not sticky
when done. Store in jars or other tightly sealed containers.
If you dip in sugar when you turn them, they will be more like
"gum drops" on the outside.
I've made lots of flavors, I'll see if I can pull myself away from canning tomatoes long enough to get a picture of the different kinds, so you can see what a nice colorful mix there is. I've found that grape koolaid makes almost black gummies, and that lime is the least favorite so far, although I like it.
Sol, the coffee and chocolate hides the zucchini, if that helps! I do have a tomato and zucchini gratin recipe that I like a lot, and I love your zucchini pancakes, so I'm using them up, a few at a time.
Annie
riverrat1
6 years ago
annie1992Original Author