Chocolate Olive Oil Zucchini Bread

This Chocolate Olive Oil Zucchini Bread has been adapted from a variety of sources by Seven Spoons. The method for this bread is the standard muffin or quick bread style, with wet ingredients stirred briefly into the dry. No mixer required, with just two bowls and a spoon and you’re set for this one.

INGREDIENTS

Softened butter, for pans
1½ cups whole wheat flour
1½ cups all-purpose flour
½ cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1½ teaspoons salt
1 cup chopped walnuts, toasted
8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
½ cup olive oil
1 cup well-shaken buttermilk
2 eggs
1½ cups fine-grain turbinado sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups shredded zucchini, see note

TO MAKE

Preheat oven to 175°C. Grease two 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pans with softened butter. Use a length of baking paper to line the bottom and long sides of the pan, forming a sling, and lightly butter the baking paper as well. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir in the chopped walnuts and chocolate. Set aside.

In another bowl, whisk together the olive oil and buttermilk. Add the eggs, sugar and vanilla, and beat until smooth. Stir in the zucchini.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, stirring until combined – take care not to over mix. Divide the batter evenly between the two prepared pans and bake, rotating once, until a cake tester inserted into the loaf comes out almost clean, which should be around 50 minutes. Cool loaves in their pans on a rack for 20 minutes, then grasp the edges of the parchment to ease the bread out.

If you can wait long enough to let them cool to room temperature before slicing, then well done. If you can’t wait, then cut the loaves into ragged pieces while still warm … can’t say we blame you.

Makes 2 loaves.

Notes: For the zucchini – use the grating attachment on your food processor, taking care not to press down on the feed tube plunger while the machine is running – this gives a light, feathery shredding. Since we want a bread that is damp but not sodden, sprinkle the emerald-tipped strands across a (lint-free) tea towel, then place another atop, patting it down gently. After a few minutes the towels will have absorbed some of the excess liquid and the zucchini is left crisp and ready to go.
If olive oil is not your thing, then it can be replaced by an equal amount of neutral oil or melted butter. With the latter, the bread will be denser and, as it lacks the mitigating edge of olive oil, tasting sweeter as well.