Thursday, August 27, 2009

Zucchini - Right Where it Belongs


I think everyone makes zucchini bread. When someone mentions they have zucchini, I think everyone else connects the dots right to a loaf pan and zucchini bread. I confess... I'm not a real zucchini bread fan. Never have been. But, over on Tasty Kitchen, I saw a recipe for Zucchini bread that really caught my eye. So... with the final bit of the zucchini given to me by a friend, I tried out this recipe. It's a keeper. I liked it. There are enough other flavors happening to make the bread very tasty indeed.

Orange Pecan Zucchini Bread
4 eggs
2 C shredded zucchini, unpeeled
2/3 C orange juice (I used freshly squeezed)
3/4 C canola oil
3 1/4 C all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 grated peel of an orange
3/4 C chopped pecans
1 C powdered sugar
2 Tbsp orange juice (yep, freshly squeezed again)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and grease and flour the bottoms of two loaf pans. (The author of the recipe uses 8" pans, but says you can use 9" ones as well. I did that, however, the loaves ended up not being as tall as I like them, so next time I will use one 9" pan and then use mini-loaf pans for the rest of the batter.)

In a large bowl, beat the eggs until they are a deep lemony yellow. Beat in the sugar and then stir in shredded zucchini, orange juice and the oil. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and orange peel. Pour the flour mixture into the wet mixture and combine together. Fold in chopped pecans.

Bake for 50-55 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (Cut cooking time by one-fourth if using mini loaf pans.) Remove from oven and cool slightly. Mix together the powdered sugar and remaining orange juice to make a glaze. Remove loaves from pans and place on wire rack (with wax paper underneath the rack). Spread the glaze over the baked loaves while still warm. Allow to cool completely before serving.

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