I’ve never heard anyone speak of zucchini fritters with the same tone of delight they use for zucchini bread. But with all of the breads baked for immediate enjoyment or frozen for later gifting, there can come a time when the loaves become almost fruitcake-ish in their excess.
Luckily, Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread takes the edge off those mounds of zucchini that well-intending neighbors and friends may be leaving at your doorstep.
When selecting zucchini, bigger is not always better … more like bitter. For a tender, sweet vegetable, select 4- to 6-inch-long zucchini when harvesting or purchasing. If you’d like to freeze zucchini for winter baking, first wash and grate it, then freeze one cup at a time in small plastic freezer bags.
Nan Reinert of Chubby Pickle Farms shreds and freezes zucchini with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice. She freezes two cup portions, the exact amount she needs to make zucchini bread. The lemon juice helps it retain its color. Nan also suggests making dried zucchini chips, which are good with dips like hummus.
Do you have a favorite zucchini recipe? Folks will often add shredded zucchini to pancakes or muffins. Zucchini is fun when spiralized for a chilled salad or flash-sautéed with tomatoes, herbs, and cheese for a mock pasta dish. Add shredded zucchini to meatloaf or meatballs to stretch the meat and keep things tender. I prefer a savory version of zucchini, as my parents always served it: discs sautéed with onions, garlic, and olive oil until just tender.
Any way you slice – or grate – it, be sure to enjoy all the fresh flavors of summer while they’re still locally available!
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ½ cup melted organic coconut oil or vegetable oil
- 3 eggs (I use flax eggs as an egg substitute)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups spelt flour or all-purpose flour
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup Dutch processed cocoa or extra-dark cocoa powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon instant coffee powder
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 cups shredded zucchini
- ½ cup chocolate chips
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a Pyrex loaf pan.
- In a small bowl, combine the applesauce, oil, eggs, and vanilla. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, sift the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, coffee, salt, and cinnamon; be sure there are no lumps.
- Stir the applesauce mixture into the flour mixture. Add the zucchini and chocolate chips, stirring until just combined and evenly moistened.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 65-70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (some melted chocolate may remain on the toothpick).
- Cool in the pan.
Recipe Notes To prepare in two loaf pans or an 8”x8” or 9”x9” baking pan, bake for 35-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.- To make 3 flax eggs, mix 9 tablespoons of water with 3 tablespoons of ground flax and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
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