Zucchini Bread with Chocolate and Crystallized Ginger

National Zucchini Bread Day

Today is National Zucchini Bread Day.  I love baking with zucchini, breads seem to be so much moister when I use it.  In the fall I always freeze zucchini in one cup amounts to be able to use throughout the rest of the year.  When I thaw it out, I do remove some of the liquid as freezing it does bring more liquid.

This recipe I adapted from a good friend of mine Isabelle from Isabelle at Home.  I have made the original recipe with bananas and it is wonderful and the only thing that I changed was that I used zucchini instead of bananas.  Isabelle has some wonderful recipes on her blog, you will be sure to love her as I do.

Zucchini Bread with Chocolate and Crystallized Ginger

adapted from Banana bread with Chocolate and Crystallized Ginger

Ingredients:  Printable Recipe
2 cups flour
3/4 cup Zulka Morena Pure Cane Sugar
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt 
3/4 cup semi sweet chocolate - I used Sea Salt Round from Dove Discovery
1/3 cup finely chopped crystallized ginger
2 eggs
6 tbsp melted unsalted butter, cooled
2 cups zucchini
1/4 cup yogurt - I used Yoplait Pineapple Blended Greek Yogurt (Vanilla Yogurt works well too)

Directions:
Preheat oven 350 degrees
In bowl mix flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, semi sweet chocolate, ginger. 
In second bowl place eggs and lightly beat with fork, add melted butter, yogurt and zucchini and mix well.
Add wet ingredients into dry ingredients and using spatula mix until well incorporated.  The batter will be thick and slightly lumpy, don't over mix, just make sure all flour is incorporated in batter.
Pour batter into loaf pans, I used 4 mini loaf pans.
Place in oven and bake for 25-30 minutes for mini loaf pans until loaf is golden brown and tooth pick comes out clean (although may have some chocolate on it) and 50-60 minutes for large loaf pan.

Note:  I used Sea Salt Rounds from Dove chocolate so deleted the salt in the recipe.  
           I like the taste of the pineapple yogurt with the zucchini bread.

Perfect with your afternoon tea or coffee.