Zucchini Bread with Dark Chocolate and Dried Cherries – Zucchini bread takes on the sweet, rich flavors of dark chocolate and dried cherries for a delicious take on an old favorite.
It’s that time of year again, when the neat and tidy garden I planted in the spring looks more like a jungle. Lots of tomatoes starting to turn red, lettuce is going to seed, and my two zucchini plants are in full production. Why two? Well, you can’t plant just one. If you did, and it didn’t make it through the up and down spring weather, then you’d have no bright green zucchini to grace the table at the end of summer. So here I am with two healthy, and prolific, zucchini plants.
Zucchini is a member of the curcubit family – related to cucumbers, melons, and pumpkins. Nutritionally, it’s a good source of vitamin C and a source of manganese, potassium, and vitamin B6. It’s also fat-free and low in calories. But what I like about it is that it’s so versatile. Its mild flavor makes it easy to add to salads, side dishes, and breads where it tends to absorb and complement any stronger flavors in the recipe. Spiralize it and use it as a replacement for noodles. Eat it raw, sautéed, or baked. Sometimes I slice it thick and grill it, seasoned with a little olive oil, garlic, and pepper for a savory side dish.
But when production starts to outpace my family’s consumption of this fruit, I typically turn to shredding it and freezing it. While I’m at it, a loaf or two of zucchini bread makes it on to our menu for the week. This year I wanted to try something different with my usual recipe, adding a bit of dark chocolate and dried cherries, which added a sweet, but tangy, burst of flavor to the bread. Plus, cherries are full of antioxidants and fiber. I also used white whole wheat flour for part of the flour, added almonds, and kept the amount of oil at a reasonable amount.
Since this zucchini bread recipe has quickly become a favorite, I’m sure I’ll be making a couple more loaves for my family as well as to share. Do you have a favorite recipe that calls for zucchini? I’d love to hear about it in the comments below.
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Zucchini Bread with Dark Chocolate and Dried Cherries
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 c. granulated sugar
- 1/2 c. brown sugar
- 1/3 c. canola oil
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1.5 oz. unsweetened baking chocolate melted
- 3 c. shredded zucchini
- 1 1/2 c. white whole wheat flour
- 1 c. all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 2 tbsp. slivered almonds finely chopped
- 1/3 c. dark chocolate chunks
- 3/4 c. chopped dried cherries
- 2 tbsp. sliced almonds
- 1 tsp. turbinado sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare 2 – 9 in. bread pans by spraying the inside of the pan with non-stick pan spray and sprinkling with a small amount of flour.
- Crack the two eggs in a large bowl. Add in the granulated sugar, brown sugar, canola oil, and vanilla. Beat well.
- Melt the baking chocolate. I usually use my microwave, checking it every 20 to 30 seconds and stirring as needed. You could also melt it using a double boiler. Add the melted chocolate to the egg batter and stir it in.
- Measure out the 3 c. of shredded zucchini and mix it in to the chocolate egg batter.
- In a separate bowl put together the white whole wheat flour, all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and the 2 tbsp. finely chopped almonds.
- Pour mixed dry ingredients into the chocolate egg batter and blend till moistened.
- Chop the dark chocolate and dried cherries. I like to use a dark chocolate bar (the darker the better) and chop it into chunks of varying sizes. With the cherries it worked best to chop them just slightly. If cut too small they tended to disappear in the bread. Fold in the dark chocolate chunks and dried cherries.
- Pour the batter in the two prepared bread pans, evenly dividing between the two. Sprinkle the tops with slivered almonds and turbinado sugar.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the loaf comes out clean with no batter sticking to it.
- Cool on a rack for 5 to 10 minutes and remove from pan.
Marie – sounds delicious! I was going to get some zucchini at the farmer’s market today but opted for the jack cheese with morels and leeks. Should have gotten the zucchini too!
Ooooh. Jack cheese with morels and leeks sounds good too! Get some zucchini next time. 🙂 And thanks for stopping by!
oooh– we just finished up some zucchini brownies. I know that some dried cherries would have made them even better. I didn’t even think of it!
Thanks for sharing on A Humble Bumble Healthy Tuesday’s Blog Hop!
Kerry from Country Living On A Hill
The dried cherries ended being a great addition. Thanks for stopping!
We are going to just love this Zucchini Bread, and I have all the ingredients to make it, just can’t wait! Thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday and have a great week.
Come Back Soon!
Miz Helen
Gorgeous and tempting loaf!
Sounds really good Marie. I’ll be sure to try it. Sometimes I put dried cherries in my brownies – soaked of course in some merlot wine first.
Soaked in merlot. . .yum. Glad you stopped and let me know how you like it! Thanks!
Hi, don’t have cherries. Zucchini…so cheap at this time of year….just love baking with them. Do you think I can replace them by adding some dry raisins?
Isabelle – I think you could add almost any type of dried fruit in place of the cherries. Raisins, apricots, plums, and of those would work. Let us know what you try and how you like it? Thanks for stopping!