This is an American staple, not appreciated – yet! – in Britain. ‘Yuck, veg in bread?’ I hear you cry; but c’mon, you love carrot cake, right? This is a ‘quick bread’ (sweet & non-yeasted) just like banana bread – the variation is in the footnote.
Kudos to my 1980s vintage Good Housekeeping Cookbook for the inspiration, although this is my personal version. GF & regular versions below.
Makes: One loaf or up to 24 small muffins
Ingredients
- 375g courgettes [zucchini] – scrubbed (but don’t peel); and topped/tailed before weighing
This is approximately 1 & 1/2 regular-sized - 190g self-raising flour; 200g gluten-free self-raising flour
- 50g soft dark brown sugar
(for a richer taste, incorporate some dark muscavado or molasses sugar; no more than half, though) - 100g soft light brown sugar (golden granulated/caster will do)
- 50g chopped pecans or walnuts
- 1 tsp baking powder (ensure it’s GF if you need that)
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg; or, freshly grated nutmeg, a few seconds’ worth
- 1 unwaxed lemon: all of grated zest, and 1 tsp juice
- 2 large eggs (they should total 130g – 140g when weighed in their shells)
- 80ml (75g if weighing) vegetable oil, plus additional for greasing tin
Kit
- Loaf: A 2lb loaf tin and baking/parchment paper, cut to fit the bottom of the tin
Muffins: Two 12-hole muffin tins and 15-24 cupcake or fairy cake cases - 3 mixing bowls, 1 large and 2 small-medium
- Coarse vegetable grater
- Fine citrus grater
- Kitchen paper
- Electric mixer (hand-held or stand); or, a balloon whisk to beat the eggs & oil
- Cooling rack
- Palette knife, to loosen loaf if necessary
Steps
- Grate the courgettes into a bowl lined with kitchen paper. Put more paper on top and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 180 C (160 C fan-assisted).
Loaf: Very lightly oil the bottom and sides of your tin, and line the bottom with baking paper.
Muffins: Line your tins with paper cases. - In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugars, nuts, baking powder, bicarb, cinnamon, nutmeg, and lemon zest with a fork. Break up any clumps of sugar as you go.
- Squeeze out the excess liquid from the courgettes, and discard the paper.
- In another bowl whisk the eggs and oil until very frothy. Add the grated courgettes and lemon juice, and mix with a fork until well combined.
- Non-GF: Fold the wet ingredients into the dry JUST until fully moistened. Over-working will create a tough, close-textured result, so be gentle.
GF: Fold the wet ingredients into the dry. Beat well, and keep as much air in as possible.
Loaf: Scrape the batter into your prepared tin and smooth the top.
Muffins: Spoon the batter into the paper cases only 2/3 full to allow for a good rise. - Loaf: Bake for up to 1 hour, turning the tin halfway through for even baking, until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Leave the tin to cool on a cooling rack for 5 – 10 minutes before turning out (use a palette knife if necessary to loosen the loaf from the tin).
Muffins: Bake for up to 18 minutes for larger cupcake-sized cases; up to 14 minutes for smaller fairy cake cases. Lightly press your finger in the top of a few buns to ensure it springs back quickly. - Serve hot, warm, or cold, spreading a bit of olive oil-based margarine on each serving – you’ll definitely be a convert to using courgettes in baking.
Muffins
I made these GF Zucchini Bread Muffins with a light smear of plain icing (icing sugar and water) to enhance the sweetness. It’s not necessary, but I was baking for a crowd with a sweet tooth.
Banana Bread
This is the same recipe I use for non-GF banana bread – simply substitute the same weight of peeled bananas for the courgettes (the riper the better – you want really, really brown skins before you peel), about 3, and mashed well. I also add more ground cinnamon and nutmeg, and a touch of ground ginger, when making this recipe with bananas.
If you need gluten-free banana bread or muffins, check out my other recipe.
SHAZZ BAKES 