Name: Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 1 h
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 100 Grams (1/2 Cup) Granulated Sugar; 100 Grams (1/2 Cup) Light Brown Sugar; 4oz (1/2 Cup) Vegetable Oil; 2 Large Eggs, at room temperature; 2 Teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract; 1 1/2 Cups Shredded Zucchini, Packed; 125 Grams (1 Cups) All-Purpose/ Plain Flour; 63 Grams (1/2 Cup) Cocoa Powder ( I prefer Dutch Process); 1 Teaspoon Baking Powder; 1/2 Teaspoon Baking Soda; 1/2 Teaspoon Salt; 170 Grams (1 Cup) Chocolate Chips or Chunks

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Easy and delicious double chocolate zucchini bread is like magic, you'll swear you are eating chocolate cake! The zucchini hides perfectly in the loaf cake and provides the best texture and moisture. Step-by-step photos help you make this easy chocolate loaf cake.

slice of double chocolate zucchini cake hanging off a wire rack

Last year I began my love affair with baking with zucchini. I had no idea all of the amazing possibilities. And that you do not taste it at all. Like this chocolate zucchini bread just straight up tastes like chocolate cake. Can we get an AMEN for sneaked in veggies!

This recipe is based on my chocolate chip zucchini bread which is a family favorite, my sister makes this herself all the time. It's that good! For this double chocolate version I subbed some of the flour for cocoa powder, but because of the cocoa powder being so drying I chose to use vegetable oil instead of melted butter. Oil holds more moisture than butter. The recipe turned out great.

Because the bread is so dark because of the cocoa powder you do not see the green of the zucchini at all. So you can totally fool anyone with this chocolate bread recipe.

Let's get to the recipe.

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Ingredients for double chocolate zucchini bread
Instructions
Freezing
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chocolate zucchini bread cooling on a wire rack next to a cup of coffee, plates, knife, and chocolate chips

Ingredients for double chocolate zucchini bread

You just need a few pantry staples for this recipe plus of course zucchini!

Sugar. I like to use a combination of granulated sugar and brown sugar. But you could use all granulated sugar no problem.
Vegetable Oil. You can use any other neutral oil you have on hand. I prefer to use oil rather than butter in this recipe, but you could use butter, but the oil creates a moister cake, and since this is a chocolate cake we are not looking for the butter flavor as we would in a white or yellow cake recipe. I am sure coconut oil would work, I just have not tried it myself.
Large Eggs. Make sure you use large size eggs and they should be at room temperature to incorporate with the rest of the ingredients. You can warm the eggs straight from the refrigerator by placing the whole eggs in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes before cracking.
Pure Vanilla Extract. Vanilla enhances the chocolate flavor, trust me!
Shredded Zucchini. You'll need 1 ½ cups which is roughly one medium-large zucchini shredded. I like to use a cheese grater to grate my zucchini quickly.
Flour. Just good old all-purpose/ plain flour is needed. Don't overmix the flour into the batter, that would create a tougher texture.
Cocoa Powder. I prefer dutched cocoa my favorite is Bensdorp Dutch Process Cocoa powder. You could use natural too.
Chemical leavening agents. You'll use both baking powder and baking soda. They both help with the rise of the cake but the baking soda also neutralizes the acid from the cocoa powder. Baking powder already is neutralized naturally.
Salt. Don't skip it!
Chocolate Chips. You can use chunks, chips or I like to use Callebaut Chocolate Callets. In the photo, you can see some chocolate is lighter because I did a mix of dark and milk chocolate.

Check out my double chocolate zucchini muffin recipe or double chocolate banana bread next!

Instructions

The first thing is first to preheat the oven to 350F/180C and grease a 9X5 loaf pan. I like to use Bakers Joy or any other baking spray in a can as it is easy to spray into the nooks and crannies of the pan. You could also use butter but then I would use a little cocoa powder tipped around the pan to help the bread release after baking.

This recipe is nice and easy and is done in one bowl. In a large bowl mix together the oil, sugars, eggs, and vanilla extract.

eggs, sugar, oil, and vanilla in a glass bowl

Then fold in the grated zucchini. ( I use a cheese grater to shred my zucchini)

shredded zucchini added to wet ingredients in a glass bowl

Now you don't have to sift all of your dry ingredients but I find that it makes a difference when working with cocoa powder because cocoa powder is so clumpy.

Just place a large sieve over the bowl and sift in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

dry ingredients sifted into wet ingredients showing the balls of cocoa powder

Gently use a spatula to fold in the dry ingredients until just almost combined, then add in chocolate chips and stir a few times to combine, but do not overmix.

hand swirling Chocolate cake batter with a yellow spatula in a glass bowl on a white surface with a light green linen

If you overmix the batter you are going to activate the gluten in the flour which would create a tougher baked good, not what we want in this loaf cake recipe.

chocolate zucchini bread batter in a glass bowl_

Pour the zucchini batter into the prepared pan.

The baking time is similar to most quick breads around 43-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean with no wet batter.

There you have it my double chocolate zucchini bread. Let the bread cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before inverting to cool completely. Store in an air-tight container.

slices of double chocolate zucchini cake on a marble slab

Freezing

Quick breads or cake, whatever you want to call it are both perfect for freezing. To freeze the whole loaf let it cool completely then wrap it in plastic wrap, twice, and place in the freezer for up to three months. To thaw the cake let it sit in the fridge overnight.

To freeze slices of cake make sure they are cooled completely then wrap them in plastic wrap, twice, and place the slices in a freezer-safe bag. Thaw a slice on the counter for about an hour depending on the size of the cake and temperature of your kitchen.