This is my daughter's recipe taken over by me, when she married and left home. We can't believe it's a 'bread' recipe...it's more like a fruit cake or, to be really accurate, I should say vegetable cake. Call it by any name...it's yummylicious!
I grew zucchini in my garden for years and she discovered the recipe in a Betty Crocker Cookbook and we've kept changing/adding to it over the years.
Recently I tweaked the recipe for a friend who doesn't eat eggs.
For those of you who don't get zucchini where you are, it is similar to 'lauki'. I have often used zucchini in sambar as if it were lauki.
They are close cousins.
I'm giving you both the original recipe and the new shortcut; adapted to my 'easily-tired' stage.
I hope you'll try the original recipe too because it's on the topmost rung of 'Tried and True Recipes', in our family.
lan, the flowers were added with you in mind...the nasturtiums have run amok in my garden this year with all the rain we've been having.
5 star zucchini bread
This zucchini bread recipe makes two large loaves or four mini loaves.
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 2 cups granulated sugar (I use 11/2 c. as raisins add sweetness too)
- 2 cups peeled & grated zucchini ( use medium sized grater)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- (I use 1 ½ cups all purpose and 1 ½ cups chapatti atta (whole wheat flour) from the Indian grocery store).
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 cup raisins
Beat eggs until light and foamy; add vegetable oil, sugar, zucchini and vanilla. Mix lightly but blend thoroughly.
Mix together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and spices; mix lightly. Add dry ingredients to first mixture, stirring to blend. Stir in nuts and raisins.
Pour batter into two loaf pans, 9x5x3-inches in size. Bake at 325° for 50 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted near center of a loaf comes out clean.
I used foil mini loaf pans and it baked in 35-40 mins.
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New Zucchini Bread Recipe
One box yellow cake mix.
(you could use the spice cake mix and omit the cinnamon, cloves and allspice).
2 cups peeled & grated zucchini. (I use the medium sized hand grater/Cuisinart medium grater).
½ cup raisins
2/3 cup walnuts (Chopped by hand).
1 level tablesppon ground cinnamon.
1 level teaspoon ground cloves
1 level teaspoon allspice
(Next time I'll use 1 cup walnuts, 2/3 cup raisins.)
Follow directions on cake mix box for other ingredients like oil and water.
ADD 1/3 cup oil and 1/3 cup water extra to mix.
Heat oven to 350 degrees.
I substituted 3 Tbsps yogurt for the 3 eggs.
(In our home it's supposed to be buttermilk that's substituted for eggs, but I use yogurt and add a couple of tablespoon of water so it mixes up in the food processor.)
When the cake mix, oil, water and buttermilk is blended, add the raisins, walnuts and grated zucchini and ran the food processor for 30 seconds.
Do not over beat.
Check the consistency of the batter… we all know what the consistency of cake batter from a box should be…if too thick add a little water.
Pour into well-greased loaf pans or a baking dish. (I use mini foil pans as I have standing orders from friends for gifts of zucchini bread.)
Bake at 350 for 45-50 mins or till a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Check after 30 mins.
Remember baking time depends on the kind of oven you have and this cake took a long time though it was in 4 mini loaf pans.
Enjoy…your friends and family will never guess this bread/cake has zucchini in it so you might want to play a 'guess the secret ingredient' game, before you tell them.
