These fantastically fudgy, deliciously decadent mini loaves are packed with rich chocolate chunks and a secret ingredient – zucchini. Marvellously moist, this easy chocolate zucchini bread recipe is baked into mini loaves making them ideal for snacking, sharing or gifting.
You can’t see the zucchini, you can’t taste the zucchini but trust me when I tell you, the zucchini takes these mini loaves to the next level of deliciousness.
When my neighbour Tim delivered another enormo-zucchini I was pretty much all out of zucchini ideas and although I have an extensive collection of both sweet and savoury zucchini recipes on the blog I really wanted to try something new.
I may have been all out of ideas but luckily my friends on Facebook were full of them. They had so many great ideas that now I’m wondering if I have enough zucchini to work my way through all of them! Anyhoo, it was dear Sherry who directed me to Nagi’s recipe for Chocolate Zucchini Bread. You know me, all my teeth are sweet so this is one recipe I could really get on board with.
Nagi made this recipe into one large loaf but I dusted off my mini loaf pan and made individual ones (although muffins would work too) because they are so much easier to share.
I also halved the chocolate content because a) chocolate is gold plated these days and b) it’s all I had in the house. Nagi suggests using dark chocolate but I used what I had which was a mixture of milk and dark chocolate. In my kitchen, all chocolate is good chocolate!
I offered these to David who will only eat zucchini under duress and he said zucchini never tasted so good and that friends, is because you cannot see or taste the zucchini but you can totally taste the CHOCOLATE! Sorry for shouting, I got a bit carried away there…
When it comes to veggie smuggling, this is about decadent as it gets. Rich, chocolatey, and irresistibly moist, these mini loaves are guaranteed to satisfy the sweetest tooth!
Are you a fan of zucchini? What chocolate would you pick – milk or dark?
Makes 10 mini loaves or 1 large loaf
Ingredients
350-420g zucchini, grated (2 large or 3 small)
260g plain flour
40g cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
275g white sugar
2 eggs
100g unsalted butter, melted
150g dark or milk chocolate, roughly chopped (or choc chip)
How to – Traditional
- Preheat oven to 180C and grease and line the holes of a mini loaf pan.
- Place the grated zucchini in a colander and squeeze out any excess liquid, leaving it to drain while you make the batter.
- In a large bowl, mix the flour, cocoa, bicarb and salt.
- In a separate bowl whisk the eggs and sugar and then add the melted butter and vanilla. Whisk until combined.
- Pour the egg mixture into the dry ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon until just incorporated. The batter should be nice and thick.
- Add the grated zucchini and chocolate chunks/chips and mix through, the batter should become looser and almost spreadable.
- Use an ice cream scoop to evenly distribute the batter between the pan holes. Bake for 30-35 minutes until a cake tester inserted into the middle of the loaves comes out clean with the exception of molten chocolatey goodness. If you’re using one large loaf tin, see note for cooking time below.
- Leave the loaves to cool in the tin for 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
How to – Thermomix
- Preheat oven to 180C and grease and line the holes of a mini loaf pan.
- Place the chocolate into the TM bowl and chop for 3 seconds on speed 6. Set aside.
- Cut the zucchini into chunks and place in the mixing bowl and chop for 7 seconds on speed 4. Put the grated zucchini into a colander and squeeze out any excess water. Leave it to drain while you make the batter.
- Roughly chop the butter and add to the TM bowl. Melt for 2 minutes at 60C on speed 2.
- Add the eggs, sugar and vanilla. Mix for 20 seconds on speed 4. Scrape down sides of bowl.
- Add the flour, cocoa, bicarb and salt to the TM bowl. Mix for 20 seconds on speed 4. Scrape down sides of bowl.
- Add the zucchini to the TM bowl and mix for 10 seconds on reverse speed 4.
- Add the chocolate chunks/chips to the batter and stir with the spatula until just combined.
- Use an ice cream scoop to evenly distribute the batter between the pan holes. Bake for 30-35 minutes until a cake tester inserted into the middle of the loaves comes out clean with the exception of molten chocolatey goodness. If you’re using one large loaf tin, see note for cooking time below.
- Leave the loaves to cool in the tin for 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
NOTE: If you’re making one large loaf, bake for 45 minutes, then cover tin with foil and cook for a further 20 minutes or until cooked.
