Louise's Chocolate Zucchini Bread

This zucchini bread goes full chocolate with two ounces of melted unsweetened baking chocolate stirred directly into the batter. No cocoa powder, no chocolate chips on top. Real melted chocolate gives the crumb a deeper, fudgier quality that cocoa alone can’t match.

Two cups of grated zucchini disappear completely into the batter. You won’t see green flecks or taste vegetable. What the zucchini does is release moisture as it bakes, keeping the bread impossibly moist for days after baking. It’s the same trick regular zucchini bread uses, just with chocolate along for the ride.

A full cup of oil in the batter sounds like a lot, but it’s what makes this bread tender and rich without any butter. Combined with three eggs beaten until yellow and two cups of sugar, the base is closer to a cake than a standard quick bread.

Cinnamon and chopped nuts round things out with warmth and crunch.

Kitchen Tips

• Grate the zucchini on the large holes of a box grater. Don’t squeeze out the moisture like you would for fritters. You want that liquid in the bread
• Melt the chocolate gently over a double boiler or in short microwave bursts. Burnt chocolate is bitter and grainy
• This batter fills two 9×5 loaf pans or one angel food pan. Don’t try to cram it into a single loaf pan or it won’t bake through
• The long 90-minute bake at a moderate temperature is necessary for the center to set. Test with a toothpick before pulling

Variations

• Add a cup of chocolate chips to the batter for pockets of melted chocolate throughout
• Replace cinnamon with a teaspoon of espresso powder to intensify the chocolate flavor
• Use walnuts or pecans for the chopped nuts, or skip them for a smooth crumb