This passed the Ben test in only two tries (this being the second). I usually keep recipes on the Experimental Mouffette blog until I've perfected them (to Ben's liking) and then until I can reproduce them three times. This got such a high reading on the Ben-O-Metre that it got a photograph, so I figure, it's ready to share. It makes quite a heavy loaf, and the crumb is super moist. The walnuts and chocolate chips are just suggestions. You can omit them or substitute them with whatever you like.
⅓ cup (2.67oz/76gr) melted butter and grape seed oil (fill a little less than ¼ of the measuring cup with melted butter and top it off with the oil)
1½ cups flour
3⁄4 cup sugar
2¼ tsps baking powder (or 1 Tbsp.)
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ cup (2 oz) walnuts, chopped
½ cup (3 to 3.5 oz) chocolate chips
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1½ cups (9 oz) shredded zucchini
- Preheat the oven to 375F. Melt the butter. Butter a 8½" by 4½" loaf pan.
- In large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, walnuts and chocolate chips.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the eggs, butter and oil, and the vanilla.
- Add the grated zucchini to the flour mixture and mix thoroughly, until the zucchini pieces are separated and covered in flour.
- Now, add the wet ingredients and mix only just until well combined, and no more (the more you stir, the tougher the crumb of the cake will be).
- Pour the batter into the buttered loaf pan. Bake 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean.
- Cool the loaf in the pan on a wire rack for about 10 to 20 minutes before popping it out of the pan. Once the loaf is removed from the pan, let it cool completely, still on the wire rack.
