The Perfect Chocolate Zucchini Bread

If you’re enjoying this newsletter, please consider becoming a paid subscriber. It’s only $24 a year.

RECIPE OF THE WEEK

---

Chocolate Zucchini Bread:

I was first introduced to this magical combination of chocolate and zucchini when I lived in NYC back in 2009. There was a bakery in SOHO on Sullivan St. with a green awning called Once a Upon a Tart. They sold the best chocolate zucchini muffins. The bakery permanently closed in 2018. To be honest, I don’t even like chocolate baked goods that much, but this chocolate zucchini muffin changed something in me.

I learned from charlotte that the bakery has a cookbook, but I haven’t been able to get my hands on it. I would love to get a copy of the cookbook to see if they share their chocolate zucchini muffin recipe! Let me know if you have the cookbook in the comments.

Seemingly out of nowhere, this past week, I got the strongest craving for one of those decadent chocolate zucchini muffins. After searching the internet and my cookbook collections for recipes—I decided to bake a couple different recipes of chocolate zucchini muffins, breads, and cakes.

The recipe I liked the most, with just a few small changes on my end, was the Chocolate and Zucchini Cake recipe by Yossy Arefi from her Simple Treats for Anytime Cravings: SNACKING CAKES cookbook. This recipe makes a great chocolate zucchini quick bread! It stays moist for days. You can also make the entire recipe in a single bowl. This recipe is a great option for someone who prefers moderately but not overly sweet quick breads.

The initial crackly and crunchy texture of the top of the bread becomes soft after the bread had time to sit in an airtight container for several hours or overnight. I recommend you try both versions to see which you prefer! I personally love it more the following day, but my sister loves the crunchy top and prefers to enjoy it a couple hours after it was baked before the moisture had time to penetrate the entire cake.

As far as the small changes I made to the recipe, I adjusted the quantities of a couple ingredients, replaced some of the ingredients with new ones, and rewrote the steps according to my own preferred method.

For example, I prefer the use of milk chocolate such as Callebaut Recipe N. 823 to help enhance the sweetness of the final product. You can of course use whatever chocolate you prefer or have on hand, dark, bittersweet, or semi-sweet chocolate. I also excluded the use of any additional spices such as cinnamon and cardamom from the recipe.

Lastly, to achieve a more tender crumb, I decided to incorporate cake flour into the recipe. The combination of King Arthur AP flour and cake flour resulted in a super soft and tender crumb, exactly what I was looking for in my ideal final product.

What zucchinis should I use for this recipe? You want to use the smaller size zucchinis. The large ones tend to be a bit too dry and bitter. We also want to avoid using zucchini with large tough seeds, another common characteristic of giant size zucchinis.

Do you have a favorite chocolate zucchini recipe? As always let me know if you have any questions about the recipe in the comments.

---

Tools:

• Large Mixing Bowl

• Cheese Grater

• Silicone Spatula or large wooden spoon

• 9 x 5 x 3 inches Nonstick Loaf Pan or 1-Pound Loaf Pan

• Hand mixer or a whisk

• Parchment Paper

Ingredient List: 

• 2 large eggs, at room temperature

• 150 grams fine granulated sugar

• 165 grams neutral oil, like peanut oil or grapeseed oil

• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds (optional)

• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

• 45 grams High Fat Cocoa Powder (I love cocoa powder with 22/24% cocoa butter from Callebaut), any Dutch-Process cocoa powder will work

• 80 grams AP flour (I used King Arthur)

• 80 grams Cake flour

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 225 grams grated unpeeled zucchini, after extra moisture has been squeezed out, about 1 and a half medium zucchinis

• 120 grams milk chocolate chips such as Callebaut Recipe N. 823 (divided)

Method: 

1. Preheat your over to 350 F or 180 C. Prepare your pan with a nonstick spray or butter. Place a long piece of parchment paper that hangs over the two long edges of the pan, making it easier to lift the cake once it’s done baking.

2. For the quick bread: In a large mixing bowl, add the room temperature eggs and sugar. Using a hand mixer, mix on medium low speed until the mixture is pale and creamy, about 1 to 2 minutes.

3. Now slowly begin to add the oil to the mixture. Using the hand mixer, gradually incorporate all of the oil into the batter until fully emulsified, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.

4. Now lets add the poppy seeds, kosher salt and cocoa powder. I like to sift in my cocoa powder! Set you hand mixer to the lowest setting and begin to mix. Mix until the mixture is completely smooth and shiny, about 30 seconds to 1 minute.

5. Sift in the flour, baking powder, and baking soda into the mixture. Using a spatula, incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet. Stop mixing as soon as no big streaks of flour remain in the batter, about 30 seconds.

6. Now add the grated/squeezed zucchini and 90 grams of chocolate chips to the batter. Using a spatula, incorporate the ingredients evenly into the batter, there should be no streaks of flour at this point. THE KEY HERE IS TO AVOID OVERMIXING THE BATTER.

7. Pour the finished batter into the prepared loaf pan and sprinkle with remaining chocolate chips (30 grams).

8. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes. Start checking for doneness at the 50-minute mark. Insert a skewer or cake tester into the middle of the pan. The skewer should come out clean, without any wet batter. It’s okay to see melted chocolate.

9. Let the zucchini bread cool in the pan for 10 to 20 minutes. Afterwards remove the bread from pan and let it cool completely on a drying wrack before putting it in an airtight container or for at least another 30 minutes before slicing and enjoying!

10. To store: Wrap the bread in plastic wrap or place in an airtight container. The cake will become even more moist the following day. The top crust will turn soft the next day. Make sure to try it the day of and leave some for the next day to see which you prefer! The bread can be stored at room temperature in an airtight container for 3 days.