HEAVENLY MOIST CHOCOLATE BANANA ZUCCHINI BREAD

Did I tell you how much I love afternoon coffee and cake culture in Germany?

As a continuation of my cake journey, I’m sharing with you an amazing chocolate banana bread recipe which contains a secret ingredient that will shock you - zucchinis! Let me tell you, the texture of this cake/bread is quite heavenly. It’s not your typical decadent chocolate cake and you won’t think twice about grabbing another slice. It’s light, ultra moist and has just the right amount of sweetness! You would never believe that there are 2 entire zucchinis inside this chocolate banana bread! 

Zucchinis have a lot of water which makes this cake very moist. The additional dark chocolate pieces give slight richness and density to the cake. I particularly like to use my favourite chocolate bar combo for this recipe; Lindt 75% dark chocolate and almond sea salt dark chocolate. Oh my my my, it’s a match made in heaven!

The top outer layer of the cake is slightly crunchy and of course chocolatey. There are 3 bananas inside which gives natural sweetness and you would only need to use half of the amount of sugar than you would need for other regular cakes. I like to bake this cake on Sunday afternoons so I can enjoy one slice every day for the week with a cup of coffee in the afternoon or after when I come home from work. it would be something small that I would look forward to at the end of my afternoons. 

I hope you enjoy!

-Ari Yori

HEAVENLY MOIST CHOCOLATE BANANA ZUCCHINI BREAD RECIPE

prep time: 20 minutes

bake time: 50-65 minutes

portion: 7-8 servings

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INGREDIENTS

3 ripe bananas, mashed with a fork

2 zucchinis, grated and squeezed

1/2 cup (60g) cocoa powder

1 1/2 cup (225g) all-purpose flour (550 flour), spooned and levelled

3/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 cup (75g) granulated sugar

1/3 cup (50g) brown sugar

1/2 cup (120ml) vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 eggs

1.5 bars (150g) dark chocolate, chopped

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter a 25 or 30cm loaf pan and set aside.

2. Mash your bananas using a fork and in a separate bowl grate your zucchinis. Zucchinis have quite some water inside them so make sure to squeeze most of the water out using your hands or with a cheese cloth.

3. In a bowl, combine all of your dry ingredients: cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt,. Set aside.

4. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together oil, sugars, vanilla and eggs. Add the mashed bananas and zucchinis to the mixture and gently mix using a spatula until evenly combined.

5. Add the dry ingredients and gently fold until you cannot see any dry flour specs.

6. Add 2/3 of your chopped dark chocolate pieces and gently fold until evenly incorporated into the batter.

7. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and sprinkle the remaining dark chocolate pieces on top. Bake in the oven for 50-65 minutes - until your toothpick comes out clean or with few crumbs.

8. Remove the bread from the oven and let sit and cool down for about 30 minutes in the loaf pan. After 30 minutes, remove the bread from the pan and let it cool completely on a cooling rack before serving.