Country-Style Zucchini Bread

 

 

Every summer I plant zucchini squash and every summer I end up with too many plants maturing all at once. And even after sharing with all of my neighbors, I would still have a lot left over. That's when I began hiding my plentiful squash in muffins, breads, and cakes. I love this recipe that came out of my local Carolina Country magazine years ago. It actually lists it as a cake and calls for a cream cheese frosting, but I have always omitted the frosting and baked it in a loaf pan as you would bread.

 

Ingredients:

2 cups of finely grated zucchini

1 cup vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups self-rising flour

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. salt

1 8oz. can crushed pineapple, drained

1 cup chopped pecans

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine the oil, white sugar, brown sugar, salt, vanilla, cinnamon, and eggs in a large bowl. Slowly add the flour in and mix well. Then add the zucchini, pineapple, and pecans and stir to combine. Pour into two loaf pans, or if you prefer, a 13x9 cake pan. Bake for 45-60 minutes or until golden brown and bread springs back when touched.

 

I found this recipe plenty sweet enough without adding the cream cheese frosting. But for those of you who would like to serve it as a cake, I will include the frosting recipe.

 

Cream Cheese Frosting:

 

1 8oz. package of softened cream cheese

1/2 cup softened butter

2 cups powdered sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

 

Cream butter and cream cheese together. Add powdered sugar in slowly and mix to combine. Add vanilla extract and stir well. Spread frosting over completely cooled cake.

 

Good eats!