Chocolate Zucchini Bread (with a few surprise ingredients)

sweetbeckymarie · July 2012

It's summer and anyone with a garden probably has an abundance of Zucchini on hand. You could make the classic Zucchini bread OR one with a twist:

In my search, I found this recipe for a Zucchini Chocolate (Basil) Loaf: http://www.forkspoonnknife.com/2010/09/farm-to-table-zucchini-chocolate-basil.html

I played around with it a bit, eliminating all oil and added sugar (except for the chocolate chips, of course), as well as making it vegan. It may seem like an in depth recipe but it's SO worth it. I base this on the fact that I cannot stop eating the stuff.

1/2 cup flour (I used whole wheat, this resulted in a dense loaf that didn't rise, perhaps a 1/2 and 1/2 flour mix would solve that)
3/4 cup zucchini grated (squeeze the excess moisture out of the zucchini prior to adding it into the mix)
1/4 cup cocoa powder (i used dutch processed, which might have contributed to the loaf not rising, as well)
handful chocolate chips semisweet (I used 2 Tablespoons Ghiradelli semi-sweet chocolate chips)
1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar (Instead I used 6 pitted dates that i threw into the food processor to blend)
2 T fresh basil (this REALLY brings out the chocolate flavor and is amazing)
1/4 tsp cinnamon
salt (just a dash, i'm assuming i used about 1/16 a teaspoon, you could probably use 1/8 teaspoon)
1 egg (to make vegan I used 1 Tablespoon Flax Meal with 2 Tablespoons water microwaved for 30 seconds, let cool then add)
1/4 cup canola oil (I exchanged 1/4 c. organic applesauce for this, also probably contributing to the dense loaf, a 1/2 and 1/2 mix of oil/applesauce would most likely solve this)
1/4 cup whole milk yogurt (I used 1/4 cup unsweetened Almond Milk, probably changing the consistency)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp baking powder

Mix the wet ingredients together and sift the dry ones in a large bowl. Add the wet mixture in three parts to the dry and fold until just combined. Pour into a 5 inch loaf pan and bake at 350 F for 45 minutes or until the cake tester comes out clean. Cool on rack to room temperature before slicing.

**As you can see I made a lot of changes to the original. This is a VERY chocolatey recipe. At 838 calories a loaf, this quells any cravings without all the guilt.