Recipes

[Carol1229]

I honestly don't think the zucchini in the garden is ever going to stop growing! That's fine........it's giving me more chances to create new flavors of zucchini bread.

This one has been on my mind for a while. In fact this is my third attempt at getting the end result I've wanted......and I FINALLY nailed it.

Ever since Bob brought home chocolate infused with chili from Germany, I've been hooked on the "sweet heat" combination. I fell in love with a cookie using chili and cayenne and wanted to get the same combination into a zucchini bread.

Attempt number one yielded no "warmth" which meant not enough chili.....attempt number two gave me too much "smoky flavor" so that meant the WRONG chili powder-and Bob said it needed more chocolate. That's it...determined, was I, to get the result I wanted.

This bread has 4 different levels of chocolate....chocolate instant pudding, chocolate chips. chocolate extract AND melted chocolate infused with chili. I also snuck in some cocoa chile powder and for heat? Cayenne pepper. Don't let the amount scare you......what it does is give a nice background warmth after a few bites of the bread.....more like a "after-glow." Cinnamon added another level of spice and I like adding a touch of coffee to chocolate desserts to add depth-a little espresso powder worked nicely.

It goes to show that the third time IS a charm-at least it was for me......this bread is just what I envisioned.....I'm glad I didn't give up on this one.....we would have missed out on a real winner.

Now......off to pick more zucchini.....


Carol


MEXICAN HOT CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI BREAD

3 large eggs, beaten
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
1 c. canola OR vegetable oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. chocolate extract
1 (3.5 oz.) bar dark chocolate infused with chile, melted (such as Lindt)
2 c. unpeeled, shredded zucchini
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 (4-serving size) pkg. devil's food OR chocolate instant pudding mix
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. instant espresso powder
1 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 tsp. cocoa chile powder
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 (12 oz.) pkg. semisweet chocolate chips
Raw sugar for sprinkling over the tops of the breads

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease (2) 9x5-inch OR (6) 5x3-inch loaf pans; set aside.

Shred zucchini using on the large whole side of a box grater. Place the shredded zucchini in a mesh strainer to drain; set aside while assembling other ingredients.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, oil, vanilla extract and chocolate extract. Add the melted chocolate; stir until well blended.

With your hands (or a potato ricer!), squeeze all the excess moisture you can out of the shredded zucchini, then stir it into egg mixture.

In a medium bowl. whisk together the flour, devil's food (or chocolate) pudding mix, salt, baking soda, baking powder, espresso powder, cayenne pepper, cocoa chile powder and cinnamon. Add the flour mixture to the egg/zucchini mixture, stirring just until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Divide the batter between the prepared pans. Sprinkle the top of each loaf liberally with raw sugar. Bake @ 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes for the large loaves and 35-40 minutes for the smaller loaves, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Let breads cool in pans on wire rack for 15 minutes; remove from pans to wire rack and cool completely, Makes 2 large or 6 small loaves.