Cocoa zucchini bread

I'm the crazy person who decides to bake something the day before leaving for vacation, when there's already a long list of things to take care of. Why? Well, we had some zucchini left from last week's box, and I didn't want it languishing in our crisper for another week. I had visions of it being shriveled and moldy when we came back. As luck would have it, our friend Ginny had just emailed me a recipe for zucchini bread with cocoa that she'd been trying out with her zucchini down in Connecticut. How could I resist?

A quick word on quick breads: there's something about this type of "bread" that makes it seem easier to make on a weeknight when you're in a rush. This is considered a bread because it's traditionally baked in a loaf pan, and it's quick because it doesn't use yeast as a leavener - instead, it uses baking powder or baking soda (or in this case, both). For me, it feels quick because there's no butter in the recipe - I don't have to wait for the butter to come to room temperature to cream it, so there's no planning ahead involved.

My only change to the recipe? Rather than use a loaf pan I used an 8 x 8 Pyrex pan. My pet peeve with quick breads in loaf pans is that by the time the middle is cooked, the outside can be quite dry. It also takes longer to bake and to cool to room temperature when cooked in a loaf pan. My change of cooking vessel, I suppose, makes it less of a bread and more of a cake - but I like cake, and it has vegetables in it, so why complain?

This recipe came to Ginny courtesy of her fellow carillonneur Paul Butler. Thanks, Paul, for this recipe!

Champlain Valley Fair Blue Ribbon Zucchini Bread
source: Paul Butler

Note: making 1 1/2 times this recipe works well in a 9 x 12 pan

2 3/4 cups all purpose flour (Paul uses white whole wheat)
(for chocolate zucchini bread, substitute 1/2 cup cocoa powder for the flour)
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
3 large eggs
3/4 cup plus 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 1/2 cups white sugar (you can use 2)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 medium zucchini, grated (about 2 cups)
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a large loaf pan, or 8 x 8 pan. Sift flour, baking soda, baking power, salt and cinnamon together in a medium bowl. (If you're in too much of a rush to sift everything, just sift the cocoa; that can be lumpy.) In a medium bowl or the bowl of a mixer, whisk together eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla extract until light and thick-looking. If using a mixer, switch to the paddle attachment. Add the dry ingredients and mix briefly enough to moisten. Add the zucchini and walnuts, if using. Stir to combine but do not over mix.

Bake about 1 hour until a cake tester comes out clean. If using a loaf pan, the pan will be very full but that's okay - put a cookie sheet beneath if you're concerned about spillage. If you're using an 8 x 8 pan, bake for approximately 40 - 45 minutes. Cool 5 to 10 minutes and turn out onto a wire rack.