Chocolate Zucchini Bread

I eat a lot of zucchini in the later summer and early fall. I always am telling myself that I should bake zucchini bread with some of it, but I always end up just eating it. It’s a cold and rainy early fall day in Michigan however, and I wanted to bake something. I had 1 1/2 large-ish zucchini in the fridge so decided to finally bake with some of it! I found the following recipe on Food52, it’s from the author of my current favorite baking cookbook so I figured I’d give it a try.

I made a few small adjustments. Well, the first was kind of a big change, but I didn’t feel like getting out walnuts or chocolate, plus I was looking for a more simple bread, so I omitted all of the add-ins (yes I know this changes a TON about the final product) and “replaced” them with a few spices. I added in just a hint of clove, along with some cinnamon. I really do enjoy the cinnamon/chocolate combo.

The final bread was so nice! It is super tender and soft. You definitely taste the whole wheat flour coming through along with a nice lightly spiced chocolate flavor. I really liked the spices I added. I would most definitely make this again. I may even try bumping up the amount of ingredients to get me a slightly larger/taller loaf but otherwise wouldn’t change a thing!

Chocolate Zucchini Bread
From Food52
Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups (~280 grams) grated zucchini

• 3/4 cup (90 grams) all-purpose flour

• 3/4 cup (90 grams) whole wheat flour

• 1/4 cup (20 grams) Dutch process cocoa powder

• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon sea salt

• [I added in 1/8 tsp ground cloves and 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon to the dry ingredients]

• 1/4 cup (2 ounces) unsalted butter, melted

• 1/2 cup buttermilk [I did 60 grams sour cream + 60 grams milk]

• 1 large egg

• 3/4 cup (150 grams) light brown sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped and toasted

• 1 1/4 cups bittersweet dark chocolate (at least 70%), chopped

Directions
Preheat an oven to 350° F. Grease and line a 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan with parchment paper, set it aside.

Place the grated zucchini on a baking tray lined with a lint-free kitchen towel, then place another kitchen towel on top, patting it down gently to absorb any additional moisture. Set aside.

In a large bowl, use a fork to whisk together the flours, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and sea salt. Stir in the chopped walnuts and 1 cup of the dark chocolate.

In a separate large bowl, whisk together the butter and buttermilk. Add in the egg, light brown sugar, and vanilla, then whisk the liquid ingredients until smooth and uniform. Gently fold in the zucchini.

Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. [It was easier for me to whisk the dry ingredients in a small bowl and add the dry to the wet]

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan, then sprinkle the top of the batter with the remaining 1/4 cup of chopped dark chocolate.

Bake, rotating at least once half way through baking, until a skewer inserted into the bread comes out clean, 50 to 60 minutes. [I baked mine for 50 minutes exactly and it was perfectly cooked!. I checked it at 45 and 48 minutes and it didn’t seem done yet. The final loaf was completely cooked through but without any dryness/overcooking at all]

Let cool in the loaf pan for 15 to 20 minutes before inverting out onto a cooling rack to finish cooling completely.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Growing up, my mom would often come home from the grocery store with a package of a dozen mini poppyseed muffins. They would go on the table along with whatever we were eating that night, and I would always eat two or three. I don't know why these particular muffins popped up every once in a while, all I know is that I sure enjoyed it when they did. It's been a while now since I had one of these muffins, they no longer make a regular appearance at our table, but I still have all the great memories. Because of these memories I've been eyeing this recipe for quite some time, but I never got around to making it. Every time I looked in the cookbook I would think about those grocery store muffins and wonder how these would compare. Well, I don't have to wonder anymore, a few weeks ago I got my answer.

I had an opened package of sour cream in my fridge that had to be used before it went bad and I had an urge to make some muffins. What else was I to do but to go to the store for a bag of lemons and get started on this long awaited recipe? To be honest, I didn't want to make the entire recipe, it looked huge and I didn't need that many muffins, but since the recipe had 5 eggs which can be difficult to halve, and I wanted to be sure they turned out perfectly, I decided to just do it and make the entire thing.

I was right, the recipe was huge. My mixing bowl was almost full with batter, and I think I ended up making 24 good size muffins. It was a fun recipe to make, the batter was so light, fluffy and lemony, the pale lemon of the batter a perfect contrast to the small black poppy seeds. While baking, they perfumed the entire kitchen with a divine sugary, lemony fragrance. Once out of the oven I got to brush the tops of each muffin with a sticky, lemon glaze to keep them moist and light. So the verdict? I thought they were fresh and delicious, and a wonderfully reminiscent of my old grocery store mini muffins, only better. I will be making them again for sure, but I'll probably try to halve the recipe to make the final muffin count a little more manageable.

 Most of the major players, ready to go

 Start with the butter and sugar

 Cream them together until really light and fluffy

 Then add in the eggs, one at a time

 Beat until well combined

 Mix together lemon zest and poppy seeds

 Add in the lemon juice

 Mix it into the butter mixture

 Then alternate adding the flour and sour cream, 

making sure not to overmix, otherwise they won't be 

as light and fluffy as they should be

 All mixed; that's what I call a bowl of batter!

 Fill up those muffin tins and bake

 Brush with the lemon glaze and let cool slightly, 

these muffins are best eaten warm or within 8 hours of baking

A beautiful fine crumb, lovely at a late breakfast

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Adapted from Amy's Bread

Ingredients

Muffins

• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
• 1 1/2 cups (330 grams) sugar
• 5 eggs
• 1/3 cup poppy seeds
• 2 tablespoons lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon vanilla 
• 3 1/4 cup (460 grams) flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup (235 grams) sour cream

Topping

• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup sugar

Directions

Line muffin cups with liners and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Gradually add the eggs and mix until fully combined. In a small bowl, combine the poppy seeds, lemon zest, lemon juice and vanilla. Add to the butter mixture and mix until well combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix slowly until almost combined. Then add all of the sour cream and mix until almost combined. Finish by mixing in the rest of the dry ingredients until barely moistened. Be very careful not to over mix the batter.

Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake for 15-17 minutes, rotating halfway through baking time or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Be very careful not to over bake the muffins or they will seem dry even though they are full of rich ingredients.

While the muffins are baking, combine the lemon juice and sugar in a small bowl to make a glaze. As soon as the muffins are removed from the oven, brush the glaze generously over each one to moisten. Allow the muffins to cool for 10 minutes in the pan and then move to a wire rack to finish cooling.