I have a weakness for zucchini bread and banana bread.  It’s great to snack on and great toasted with butter for breakfast.  This is my favorite zucchini bread recipe – I don’t think it gets any better than this!

Zucchini Bread

Recipe slightly adapted from The Silver Palate Cookbook.

Zucchini Bread

Makes 2 loaves.

“For best flavor, wrap the breads when cool and let stand overnight before serving.  With its sugar, spice and nuts, this is a tea bread, almost cake-like.”

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons sweet butter, melted or at room temperature (plus an extra 2 teaspoons for greasing loaf pans)

3 eggs

1 1/4 cups vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups grated unpeeled raw zucchini

2 cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground cloves

1 cup shelled walnuts, chopped

Directions:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.  Generously butter two 9×5 inch loaf pans.  Line bottoms of pans with parchment paper and brush with butter.

2. In a large bowl, beat the butter, eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla until light and thick.  Fold the grated zucchini into the oil mixture.

3. Sift the dry ingredients together in a separate bowl.  Stir into zucchini mixture until just blended.  Fold in the walnuts.

4. Pour the batter into the buttered loaf pans.  Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 1 hour and 10 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

5. Cool slightly, remove from pans, and cool completely on a rack.