Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Chocolate Zucchini Cake, ahem, “Bread”

Let’s not kid ourselves.  This is cake.  But cake you can eat for breakfast if you wink and call it bread. This recipe makes 2 standard loaves or 1 standard bundt cake pan; you can also easily divide the recipe in half to make just one loaf (sad), but why when it is so much more fun to make two?  You can always give one away!

Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Ingredients

  • 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa (use natural unsweetened cocoa, not Dutch processed)
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 3/4 cup butter 12 Tbsp or 1 1/2 sticks, melted and cooled
  • 1/2 teaspoon instant coffee granules
  • 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
  • 4 cups grated zucchini I find about 3 medium-size zucchini work out to about this amount
  • 1 12 oz package of chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. Whisk together the flour, unsweetened cocoa, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a smaller bowl.  Toss the chocolate chips into the dry mixture and make sure they are coated evenly.

  2. In a separate large bowl, mix together the sugar and eggs until smooth. Add the melted butter, instant coffee granules, and almond extract stir until smooth. Mix in the shredded zucchini. Then mix in the dry ingredients and stir until evenly mixes. The dough (batter) will be quite thick. Pour/spoon into the prepared baking pan/s. I can be pretty lazy and tend to use a baking spray with flour, but you can butter and flour if you prefer.

  3. Bake for 45-50 minutes at 350°F, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and easily. Remove to a rack. Let cool in the pan for 10-15 minutes, then run a blunt knife around the edges to separate the bread from the pan. Remove from the loaf pans and let cool completely on a rack. You really want to let this bread cool completely, as it will crumble apart if you cut it before it is cooled completely.