I've always loved carrot cake. Not only does it taste fabulous but when you compare it with, say, Triple Chocolate Truffle Decadence Cake...well which one do you think sounds healthier? Of course, this is a silly rationalization, something that us Van Dyke's are quite good at, but I've always liked baked goods that incorporate a vegetable.
Enter Chocolate Zucchini Bread. I first had this at Sarah's apartment. I think it was when she and Justin were still living in married housing at Seattle Pacific University. Not only did this bread taste fabulous, but it filled the kitchen with the faint aroma of cinnamon and cloves while baking. Now, with the exception of people who don't like cinnamon or cloves, I ask you, who wouldn't love that!? The recipe presented here is a much lighter version (the initial one called for cup quantities of vegetable oil) and I'm happy to say that a simple swap of the AP flour for a GF substitute (and the addition of a thickener--xanthan gum), generated a flavorful and moist bread that got rave reviews from the starving graduate students in my lab (and I'm inclined to think other people will like it too).
So eat up, it's practically a vegetable serving on the food pyramid right?!
Chocolate Zucchini Bread
I used Bob's Red Mill AP Gluten-Free Baking Flour. Therefore, you need to add something to replace the job of the gluten (which is to hold everything together). Xanthan gum does this nicely. The batter will have a somewhat elastic consistency but it'll bake up just fine. You can use a single 9x5 inch loaf pan or 3 min loaf pans (which I like). Store in the refrigerator and reheat in the microwave.
For really nice looking bread, sprinkle a few whole walnuts and chocolate chips on the top of the batter in the loaf pan just prior to baking.
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 cups Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Baking Flour
2 teaspoons xanthan gum
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups finely shredded zucchini (about 1 medium--shred with a cheese grater).
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cups chopped walnuts (optional)
Cooking spray
Preheat oven to 350°.
Place first 3 ingredients in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at low speed until well blended. Stir in applesauce.
Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour and the next 6 ingredients (through salt), stirring well with a whisk. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture, beating just until moist. Stir in the zucchini, walnuts, and chocolate chips. Spoon batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray or three mini-loaf pans. Bake at 350° for 45-60 min or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out almost clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes on a wire rack, and remove from pan. Cool completely on wire rack then refrigerate.
Cooking Light, July 2004
3 comments:
So the bread/cake looks amazing but I've never worked with Gluten-Free Baking Flour before. How's the texture of the final product versus the flour version?
It's a little more spongy than a normal bread, not as much of a crumb. There's a subtle difference in flavor (since it's made with either garbanzo bean flour or rice flour, depending on what kind of GF substitute you use) but after a few bites, you don't notice a difference.
The zucchinis are growing fast and furious at our house: so you know I'll be making multiple batches of this tomorrow. This bread also freezes perfectly--great for unexpected guests or impromptu tea times. Yum!
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