Seriously Effing Awesome Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Fruit and vegetable breads are one of my absolute favorite ways to sneak healthy food into my kids’ tummies without them even knowing it. I’ve tried dozens of recipes and I have to say that this chocolate zucchini bread is hands down the best bread I’ve ever made. Not only does it taste like a beautiful marriage between a brownie and a moist chocolate cake, but a small loaf contains a full 2 cups of zucchini. That’s a lot of zucchini, y’all.

INGREDIENTS

–2 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate (I used Baker’s Chocolate) (NOTE: If you can’t find unsweetened chocolate squares, substitute 6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa mixed with 2 tablespoons of butter)
–3 eggs
–2 cups sugar
–1 cup vegetable oil
–2 cups pureed zucchini (I chopped up 2 1/2 zucchinis and pulsed them in the food processor very finely, so that the kids wouldn’t see any telltale zucchini evidence in their bread!)
–1 teaspoon vanilla extract
–2 cups all-purpose flour
–1 teaspoon baking soda
–1 teaspoon salt
–1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
–3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips (use mini chips if you can find them)

DIRECTIONS

–Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

–Thoroughly grease two 9 x 5 loaf pans. (I used Pam baking spray.) Investing in high-quality loaf pans really does result in better bread- I used Cuisinart Chef’s Classic loaf pans and my breads popped right out, perfectly crusted. If you have cheaper or older loaf pans, you may want to grease pan, add parchment paper and grease again to keep the loaf from sticking to the bottom.

–Melt chocolate squares in the microwave, stirring periodically until chocolate is smooth.

–In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, and chocolate chips. Add eggs, oil, chocolate, vanilla, and pureed zucchini and blend well. Pour the batter into two loaf pans.

–Bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Check in 50 minutes by inserting a toothpick. If it comes out clean, it’s done! Mine are generally ready at 53 minutes. Turn them out of the pans on a cooling rack and allow to cool for ten minutes.

–Try not to eat it all in one sitting! Emphasis on ‘TRY.’

Bread so good, it was gone before I could get out my NICE camera. iPhone photos will have to suffice.