There are many fruits, vegetables and foods whose existence I discovered only after I started blogging and following other food blogs, as they were not available in India. In the past 5 or 6 years, many of these have started losing their mysteriousness as they have become regulars on the store shelves or at the market. Some of these fruits and vegetables are now grown in India, or else are imported from countries all over the world. So it is perfectly normal to find kiwi fruit from New Zealand, apples from the U.S., pears from China and guavas from India sharing the same shelf space.
The zucchini/ courgette was one of such vegetables that I “discovered” a couple of years ago. And it occasionally puts in an appearance at the market here too, though with a ridiculously up market price tag to it!
Every time I have done a net search for ways of cooking this, zucchini bread was one of the more popular results that always came up. The only problem (for me) was that most of the recipes seemed to call for about 4 to 5 eggs and a lot of oil. The eggless recipes all seemed to use egg alternatives or vegan alternatives which are unheard of/ or not available here.
So I put together an eggless chocolate zucchini bread recipe by adding grated apple and yogurt. I also cut down on the fat a bit by reducing the oil used and using cocoa instead of chocolate. I am not sure if this bread is meant to be a bit heavy, but my loaf rose well but was a bit dense and tasted more like cake to me than bread. But I guess because of the method of putting together the batter is more like that of a quick bread than cake batter, this is definitely bread.
My husband liked it, though our daughter didn’t find it to her taste. I thought it came out pretty well and tasted good. I liked it better the next day, after it had been in the fridge. I think this bread is a pretty nice way to use up zucchini!!
Here is my recipe, which I arrived at by adapting various other recipes with some inspired additions of my own.
A Slightly Healthier Chocolate Zucchini Bread (Egg Free)
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 3 tbsps cocoa unsweetened powder
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg grated
- 1 1/2 tsps baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 cup packed zucchini , grated
- 1/2 cup apple grated
- 1/2 cup yogurt thick plain
- 1 cup sugar granulated (or brown )
- 1/4 cup walnuts chopped
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Put the flour, cocoa, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl and mix well.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the oil, yogurt, sugar and vanilla extract together. Pour this into the dry ingredients and using a wooden spoon, mix everything together very well. Now add the grated zucchini, apple and walnuts and fold this in till well blended.
- Scrape this thick batter into a well greased and floured loaf tin and bake at 180C for about 1 1/2 hours, till a skewer inserted in the loaf comes out clean.
- Cool the bread in the pan for about 20 minutes and then loosen and cool on a rack. Slice only when completely cool. If not serving immediately, refrigerate.
Passionate About Baking says
looks yummy to me Aparna…anyway to use zucchini is good, & chocolate seems to make it better! I made one a while ago too (http://passionateaboutbaking.b… & that was very dense. Of course mine had way too many calories!!
Nags says
This looks really good! I haven’t tried zucchini in bread yet!
Raaga says
this looks great. Zucchini goes to real nice price levels in winter… 24 bucks a kilo. And I use it a lot… I’ve posted a couple of recipes, but many are in drafts/scheduled to come up in the next few weeks.
Raaga says
I have beets… maybe I will try this with that 🙂
jayasree says
Bread looks yummm… Liked the healthier version. Will have try with some replacement for Zucchini.
Aparna says
Deeba, I remember your zucchini cake with the double dose of chocolate. :DI tried to reduce the calories in mine, mainly becaus we (my husband and I) could with less of it!Nags, I still have a couple of zucchinis left and am thinking of what to make next!24! That’s cheap. Don’t even ask what it costs here right now.:(Would love to see your zucchini posts.I don’t know about the beets, though. Not our favourite veggie.:)Jayasree,You can use carrots instead. It should turn out good.
Sia says
i agree with Deeba. and they looks really soft and delicious.
pigpigscorner says
I made zucchini cake last year and my fiance stills complains about it. He thinks it’s weird to have veg in a cake.
Sunshinemom says
I still haven’t been able to digest zucchini with chocolate, and I reach Clotilde’s blog so much to see whether my mindset changed – mental block! Anyway, the bread does look a little dense but the chocolate must have been the forgiving factor:) Same pinch, beet is not my favorite veggie either but I puree it and use it in pulao:)
sra says
Now that I have my old convection oven back (hopefully it’s working – it was in cold storage, I wanted to donate it away, but it wasn’t going), I might try this – just might, for a treat. I’m wondering, can I put carrot in it instead of zuch. and use something else instead of the cocoa. Maybe 3 tbsp more of the maida or some other flavouring agent, tho’ I can’t imagine what. Any suggestions?
sra says
Ok, just saw ur reply to Jayasree. So the carrot part of the question’s answered – I suppose the quantity won’t change.
Happy Cook says
I love zuchini, but never made anything sweet from them.Your bread looks so yumm, love the rich dark colour.
Asha says
I have heard so much about moist Zucchini bread but never made at home yet but made Zucchini chutney. Looks delicious and moist! 🙂
Chris says
I don’t think I would ever complain about a chocolate bread-turned-cake 😛 Glad you could experiment with new ingredients! There are some that most people have never heard of in the US that are probably very common in India 🙂
Divya Kudua says
Hmm..I would happily munch away few of those slices..looks delectable.havent tried cooking zuchini yet..yup,mainly coz of the prize tag;-).Should try this with beets or carrots instead!!
Cham says
Veggie and fruit in a cake form, that is great idea. I love anything combined with chocolate, and it is less calorific too! When I visited India I found zucch really pricier!
Ashwini says
never tried bread, but last week i had made chocolate and zucchini cake..Both looks same to me..soft, yummy and heathy too.
Chitra says
Planning to bake breads for a long time..still not implemented in MW..will try it out:)very healthy one !!
bhagyashri says
To be very honest, I am not able to understand the combination of Zucchini in a cake or bread! :)Your cake/bread looks delicious & the recipe sounds simple enough too, might give it a try & see for myself…
Bharti says
Hey Aparna! I personally think people started putting this veggie in cakes and breads ’cause they had no other use for it! And it usually cheap here and available abundantly in the summer months, so I really think it was just a matter of using up veggies that would otherwise rot. I do buy zucchinis and then use them in recipes where they are over powered by some better flavor like chocolate 🙂
Nithya Praveen says
Zuchini is surely a great veggie to go with cakes/breads.I am very attracted to the color of the bread…it makes it very tempting:)
Uj says
Anything with chocolate is great for me. Looks yummy loved the deep colour of the bread 🙂
A_and_N says
I made a zucchini carrot cake for my nephew once and he ate it like we drink water 🙂 But nothing beats chocolate with zucchini!
Aparna says
Pigpig, I guess it is a bit weird to think of veggies in a cake till you eat one which is good.:)Harini,I had the same mental blok which why it took me so long to give this a go. The chocolate is definitely the redeeemer. And you can’t taste the zucchini anyways.I don’t buy beetroots at all.:DSra,Good news about the oven.:) Welcome back to baking.Yeas, use carrots instead and leave out the cocoa. Just increase the flour by 1/4 a cup. Cinnamon and nutmeg with vanilla would work just as well.If you love zucchini, HC, you should try this one.Zucchini chutney, Asha? Ok, that’s one more thing to try out.:D, Chris. I can imagine a lot of the ingredients we use would have non-Indians puzzled! :)Bhagyashree, I didn’t either till this bread.:)The zucchini lends moistness to the bread.Bharti, I do believe the origins of Zucchini bread are connected with a bumper harvest!!
Rosie says
Gorgeous Aparna! I like the idea of adding veggies to bakes and with chocolate I’m sold hook line and sinker lol….I want to try out beetroot in a chocolate cake next – I’ve heard this is very good too! Rosie x
Priya Suresh says
Gorgeous Bread Aparna, never tried anything with zucchini yet in baking, yummy bread..
farida says
Zucchini and bread must be a yummy combination. No eggs in the recipe? Wow, great! I am saving it. Thanks for sharing.
Yasmeen says
Chocolate and zucchini make such a delicious combo,last time I made its cake for my b’day,of course it had eggs,your eggless recipe must certainly be lower in calories.Please trail back to my blog for a Token of gratitude
chuck says
The world is truly becoming a smaller place isn’t it? I’m enjoying all the different spices and foods too!I’m always learning something new everyday. You chocolate zucchini bread looks delicious!
Ivy says
I always wonder how could someone think of adding a vegetable in a cake and yet I love carrot cake or pumpkin bread etc. I have never tried zucchini and this will be something to try in the future.
Aparna says
k you very much, Yasmeen for the award and gesture.
Le @HC says
Hi Aparna, Strangely, coming here for the first time. im excited to see a whole lot of vegetarian stuff… THanks for Sharing 🙂
Le @HC says
Hi Aparna, Strangely, coming here for the first time. im excited to see a whole lot of vegetarian stuff… THanks for Sharing 🙂
Aparna says
Welcome Le,Hope you enjoy browsing through My Kitchen.:)
Anonymous says
Loved the recipe. Once when I visited Goa, I ate a carrot/date cake which was delicious.It was dark, may be due to jaggery. Would you be able to get a recipe? Some local Goan lady in Vasco takes orders. Do not know her name, as she makes them for sale. Thanks.
Aparna says
Anon,I’m not too sure what cake you are talking about. I have not seen carrot cakes here so it probably was a date cake and could have been dark becuase of jaggery or brown sugar.I live a bit far away from Vasco so I really have no idea who this lady is. 🙂
Amanda says
How fabulous! I love how you substituted ingredients to make it healthier. I must do that more often!