So glad I made it!

I started hearing about zucchini bread only last year. At first it sounded a bit strange. I’m not used to mixing vegetables into desserts. So at first I thought I couldn’t possibly like such a strange combination.
The second thought was, well, I do like carrot cake, so why wouldn’t I like zucchini bread as well. After all, zucchini don’t really have such a distinct or strong flavor.
Hasitating here and there, the summer was over and I forgot about it. Not that I didn’t use zucchini in cooking, but probably people (read >>> food bloggers) stopped talking about it once the summer and the zucchini harvest were over.
As I’ve told you in of my previous posts, this month I’m hosting a game organized by a group of food bloggers and I chose zucchini as a topic.
Since often the challenge in this game is to create something unusual or simply not so common, I thought it was a perfect occasion to try making zucchini bread.
I remembered vaguely that I saw a chocolate version of it and googled it. The first one that came up was a recipe on Joy of baking.
I liked it immediately, just reading the introduction, before I even got to the complete ingredients list.
I did however bring in a few small changes.
I try to put oats wherever I can, so I substituted part of flour, and for a moment I wanted to use the wholewheat flour as well, but didn’t in the end.
Then there was the cocoa – carob powder. I had a box of carob powder I bought because I read it could be used instead of cocoa, and had some advantages as well, but didn’t actually realize what it was until I made and tasted the cake - I mean the English and Italian name didn’t mean anything, only later I realized that it was an ingredient my mother used often in baking and was happy I found it again. There’s however a small difference between the ground carob (that my mother used) and this cocoa-like powder, but the taste is the same, for a moment it took me back to my childhood. (more about Carob plant)
Back to the recipe. I omitted all spice, because I didn’t have any, also carob powder added that extra flavor.

Zucchini make this bread moist, and if you didn't know they were in there, you probably would have never guessed it.
My husband will confirm, I think, if you ask him. Although his face was an expression of disgust when I told him what the main ingredient was.
What makes it even tastier, moister and irresistible is the chocolate.

Don't wait a whole year before you try it out.



Chocolate Zucchini Bread

220 g grated raw zucchini
80 g flour
50 g quick cooking oats
45 g carob powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
120 ml sunflower oil
75 g fructose (or 100 g white sugar)
100 g raw brown sugar
2 medium eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
80 g dark chocolate drops
45 g chopped white chocolate (or white chocolate drops)

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, carob powder, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
In another bowl, mix together the eggs, both sugars (fructose and brown sugar in my case), oil and vanilla extract (mine is homemade) with an electric mixer until well blended – about 2 minutes.
Add the dry ingredients mixture and beat shortly again.
Stir in the grated zucchini first,

and then the chocolate (I didn’t have enough dark chocolate chips, so I added some vanilla flavoured white chocolate as well, which added cute white specks to the bread).


Pour the batter into greased and floured 24×12 (9x5”) loaf pan (I used two small, 18 cm long pans) or lined with baking paper.

Bake the bread in an oven preheated to 180°C for 55-65 minutes or until a wooden stick inserted in the middle comes out dry.
Let it cool in the pan(s) for 10 minutes and then remove from the pan(s) and let cool completely.



Due scoperte.
Un dolce fatto con le zucchine non è una cosa disgustosa come possa sembrare, ma un dolce fantastico. In questa versione al cioccolato, poi, ancora più irresistibile. Si scioglie in bocca.
Farina (polvere) di carruba.
Quando qualche settimana fa Terry ne aveva parlato, pensavo si trattasse di un ingrediente esotico. L’ho comprato (potete trovarlo da NaturaSì) e poi finalmente l’ho usato per sostituire il cacao in questa ricetta.
Quando l’ho assaggiato, era tutto chiaro.
Da bambini, quando andavamo al mare, raccoglievamo e mangiavamo queste bacche, dure ma dolciastre e molto buone.
Questa farina che ho usato è molto più fine di quella che compravo in Croazia, ma il sapore è inconfondibile.
Ricetta per il Chocolate Zucchini Bread che ho usato viene dal sito Joy of baking, ma con qualche piccolo cambiamento da parte mia (farina di carruba al posto del cacao, fiocchi d’avena per sostituire una parte di farina).


Cake al cioccolato e zucchine

220 g zucchini crude grattugiate
80 g farina
50 g fiocchi d’avena
45 g farina (polvere) di carruba
1 cucchiaino di bicarbonato di sodio
1/4 di cucchiaino di lievito in polvere
1/4 di cucchiaino di sale
1/2 cucchiaino di cannella
120 ml olio di girasole
75 g fruttosio (o 100 g zucchero bianco)
100 g zucchero grezzo di canna
2 uova medie
1 cucchiaino di puro estratto di vaniglia
80 g gocce di cioccolato fondente
45 g cioccolato bianco

In una ciotola mescolate insieme la farina, fiocchi d’avena, polvere di carruba, cannella, bicarbonato, lievito e sale.
In un’altra ciotola mettete le uova, il fruttosio (o zucchero bianco), lo zucchero di canna, l’olio e l’estratto di vaniglia (io uso il puro estratto di vaniglia, homemade) e sbattete per 2 minuti con uno sbattitore elettrico.
Aggiungete gli ingredienti secchi e mescolate ancora brevemente con lo sbattitore.
Unite le zucchine grattugiate mescolando con un cucchiaio di legno, e poi anche le gocce di cioccolato (non avevo abbastanza gocce di cioccolato fondente, così ho aggiunto una parte di cioccolato bianco alla vaniglia tagliato a pezzettini piccoli).
Versate l’impasto in uno stampo lungo (24x12 cm) – io ho usato invece due stampi più piccoli (lunghi 18 cm). Cuocete il cake nel forno riscaldato a 180°C per 55-65 minuti o finché il bastoncino di legno inserito al centro esce fuori asciutto.
Lasciatelo intiepidire nello stampo per 10 minuti, poi toglietelo dallo stampo e lasciate raffreddare completamente.



Još prošlog ljeta sam čitala i slušala o ovom kolaču s tikvicama, ali nisam se mogla odlučiti isprobati ga ili ne. Ljeto je prošlo pa tako i ja na njega malo zaboravila.
Kad sam odabrala tikvice kao temu za igricu Ajme koliko nas je, prisjetila sam ga se i kako nisam nigdje zabilježila neki poseban recept, ali znala sam da želim napraviti čokoladnu verziju, googlala sam ga i prvi koji mi je izašao (sa Joy of baking) njega sam i isprintala. Napravila sam nekoliko manjih izmjena i evo ga napokon.
Oduševljena sam. Ja baš ovakve kolače i obožavam. Sočan, čokoladan, skoro pa se topi u ustima. Mirisi koje obožavam. Da ne znate da su u njemu tikvice nikad to ne biste pretpostavili kušajući ga. Kakva im je onda funkcija pitat ćete se. Jednostavno daju mekoću i vlažnost kolaču. Budući da tikvice same po sebi nemaju neki izrazit ili jak okus niti ne doprinose kolaču u tom smislu.
Moja je radost bila još veća što sam napokon otkrila rogač (ovdje u Italiji, hoću reći). Nedavno sam čitala na jednom blogu o brašnu od carrube, koje se koristi kao zamjena za kakao, zaintrigirana, na prvom odlasku u bio dućan pokupila sam kutiju tog tajanstvenog praha koji je izgledao baš kao kakao.
Prvi put sam ga iskoristila za ovaj kolač i kad sam ga kušala, rekla sam sebi, ma, ovo ima neki poznat okus. Drmaj glavu i moždane stanice, i sjetim se: pa, naravno rogač. Pogledam tek tad na wikipediji i skužim da je carruba=rogač. Napokon. Mislila sam da je to još jedan od onih meni poznatih sastojaka koji se u talijanskoj kuhinji jednostavno ne koristi.
Razlikuje se od mljevenog rogača na koji sam bila navikla jer je prah/brašno jako fino, sitno mljeveno. Kako sam rekla, izgledom se ne razlikuje od instant kakaa.

Čokoladni kolač s tikvicama

220 g naribanih tikvica
80 g brašna
50 g zobenih pahuljica
45 g mljevenog rogača
1 žličica sode bikarbone
1/4 žličice praška za pecivo
1/4 žličice soli
1/2 žličice mljevenog cimeta
120 ml suncokretovog ulja
75 g fruktoze (ili 100 g bijelog šećera)
100 g integralnog smeđeg šećera
2 jaja
1 žličica čistog ekstrakta od vanilije
80 g nasjeckane tamne čokolade (ili čokoladnih kapljica)
45 g nasjeckane bijele čokolade

Pomiješajte u zdjeli brašno, prašak za pecivo, sodu bikarbonu, zobene pahuljice, rogač, cimet i sol.
U drugu zdjelu stavite jaja, obje vrste šećera, ulje i ekstrakt vanilije i mutite mikserom dok se sastojci ne sjedine (oko 2 minute).
Dodajte mješavinu suhih sastojaka pa opet kratko izmiješajte mikserom.
Umiješajte drvenom kuhačom prvo naribane tikvice, a zatim i čokoladu (ja sam imala čokoladne kapljice od tamne čokolade, a bijelu sam isjeckala na komadiće).
Ulijte smjesu u duguljasti kalup 24×12 cm (ja sam pekla u dva manja duga 18 cm) i pecite u pećnici zagrijanoj na 180°C 55-65 minuta, odnosno dok drveni štapić uboden u sredinu ne izađe suh (ili tek s kojom mrvicom na njemu, jer kolač je dosta vlažan).
Ostavite kolač 10-ak minuta u kalupu, a onda ga izvadite i ostavite da se ohladi do kraja.