Recipes

[Carol1229]

Uh huh-it's me again.......as long as the garden keeps giving us zucchini, I'm gonna keep playing with ingredients to create new zucchini bread flavors.

When I saw how well the white chocolate worked in the Blueberry White Chocolate Cheesecake Zucchini Bread. my thoughts then went to orange. Orange and white chocolate......how good would that taste?

In as few words as I can muster........VERY GOOD!

I love how these 2 flavors intertwined to create a bread that tastes like...sunshine..

I layered the orange flavor by using both the juice and zest of a large orange and then reached for the orange extract. I also added a little of one of my favorite things-orange flavoring oil-the kind used in candy making-to add a little more punch I'm a big fan of these oils-they really do bump up the flavor nicely in baked goods. Don't worry if you don't have it or can't find it at any of your local stores-it can be omitted and the bread will still be wonderful.

I decided not to add any chopped nuts to this one-I wanted the orange/white chocolate flavor to shine. I did decide to add some sparkle to the top of the bread with a sprinkling of raw sugar over top of each loaf before they went into the oven. Not only does it give a pretty sparkle to the bread, it gives a nice crunch on the top of each slice. Feel free to leave the sugar off the top if you like.

The orange flavor really pops after the bread was wrapped and left overnight.

It's a pretty plain looking bread-just a few specks of green and orange here and there-but it sure packs a nice orange flavor and the white chocolate adds a nice somethin' in the background.

Hopefully the garden will survive through hurricane Irene-if it does, we just might get a few more zucchini so I can have more fun with new bread flavors. Fingers crossed!

If you're an orange lover....give this bread a try and bake yourself a few loaves of sunshine. Carol


ORANGE-WHITE CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI BREAD

3 large eggs, beaten
1 c. granulated sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. orange extract
1/4 tsp. orange flavored oil (optional)
1 c. canola OR vegetable oil
Juice and grated rind of 1 large orange
2 c. peeled, grated zucchini
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 (4-serving size) pkg. instant French vanilla OR vanilla instant pudding mix
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
4 oz. white chocolate, grated OR finely chopped
Raw sugar for sprinkling over the tops of the breads

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

Place shredded zucchini in a mesh strainer to drain; set aside while assembling other ingredients.

In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, sugar, vanilla, orange extract, orange oil (if using), canola oil, orange juice and orange rind until light.

Squeeze all the excess moisture you can out of the shredded zucchini then stir it into egg mixture.

In a medium bowl. combine flour, vanilla pudding mix, salt, baking soda, baking powder and grated white chocolate; mix well. Add to egg/zucchini mixture; stir just until combined.

Divide batter between prepared pans. Sprinkle the top of each loaf liberally with raw sugar. Bake @ 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes for the large loaves and 35-45 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 5 small loaves.