pecans Archives - Marisa's Italian Kitchen

With zucchini being a staple backyard vegetable for most people, this sweet loaf would be a wonderful way to use up the summer bounty. It is one of those versatile foods that can be eaten raw, sliced and added to salads, cooked up in a savory dish or simply grate it and bake with it.

We had one of our numerous potlucks last week and this loaf received a lot of love and had many colleagues requesting the recipe. It is so quick and easy to put together with very minimum fuss. No special equipment required, just two bowls to stir in the dry and wet ingredients separately. I used my box grater to shred the zucchini which only took a minute and works wonderfully.

Tip: For the most tender and moist zucchini bread, use a light hand when stirring the batter together and avoid over-mixing.

Ingredients:

3 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 1/2 cups coarsely shredded, unpeeled zucchini (2 medium)
2 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil or canola oil
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cups mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350*F.

Grease two 8×4 inch loaf pans.

In a large bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and set aside.

In another bowl whisk together the eggs, zucchini, sugar, oil and vanilla. Add to your flour mixture and stir just until moistened. The batter will be somewhat lumpy and with a couple of white flour flecks and that is o.k. Next, fold in 1 cup of the mini chocolate pieces and the pecans.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pans and bake for 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Let cool in the loaf pans for 10 minutes then remove from the pans and let cool on a wire rack.

Melt the remaining 1/2 cup of chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second intervals, until melted (about 1 minute ). Stir and drizzle the melted chocolate over the two loaves.

I find that using mini chocolate chips ensures an even distribution of chocolate through out the loaves. Whereas larger chucks of chocolate tends to settle at the bottom of the loaf which can also result in scorched bottoms.

Tender and moist with small green flecks of zucchini peaking through.

For easier slicing, let cool completely or better yet cover the loaf and store overnight. Drizzle the melted chocolate just before serving. Wonderful for make ahead desserts, breakfast or brunch ideas.

This zucchini bread is truly remarkable. I made it three times this past week which when doing the math is 6 loaves! The first time I used my stand mixer on the “stir mode” but it turned out too dense for my liking. So skip the big mixer and do use a whisk and a spoon. Have to go now, my Elliptical Machine is calling out to me. lol 🙂

Makes two impressive loaves and will yield about 14 slices each.

Adapted from BHG Magazine

An easy to bake Tropical Chocolate Banana Pecan Bread and simply heavenly!

The very first time I brought this banana bread in at work, a co-worker took one bite rolled her eyes and uttered “orgasmic”! It’s most certainly that good.

This tropical chocolate banana pecan bread will be a huge hit at your next family gathering or potluck. It has always been my go to banana bread recipe whenever a craving hit and a no fail recipe. Even beginners will appreciate the simplicity of this sweet loaf as its not complicated to put together and yet so amazingly delicious you’ll want to bottle the tropical aromas.

While the mashed bananas render this sweet loaf moist, the pecan and coconut topping adds a lovely crunchy bite in contrast to the loaf itself.

When using bananas for baking, make sure they are ripe with brown freckles but not bruised. If you have an abundance of over ripe bananas you can freeze them, with the peel on, sealed in a ziplock bag. When you’re ready to use them, simply bring them out to thaw. Peel the bananas and add them to your favorite recipe.

Consequently, you will need approximately 3 medium sized ripe bananas to equal one cup of mashed bananas for this recipe. Although a potato masher comes in real handy when mashing the bananas, a fork will do just fine.

I omitted the raisins from the original recipe and added the chocolate chips and pecans simply to suit my personal tastes. I’m just not a fan of raisins in my desserts!

Alternately, walnuts can be substituted for the pecans if that is what you have on hand.

Bake this Tropical Chocolate Banana Pecan Bread today and enjoy with your favorite cup of tea, coffee or simply a cold glass of milk.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 cup mashed bananas
1 cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup pecans, chopped

Topping:

1/2 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tbsp butter softened
1 1/2 tsp all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup pecans, chopped

For the topping: Combine all ingredients until nice and crumbly into a small bowl and set aside

Grease a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan and set aside. Preheat oven to 325*F (160*C).

In a large bowl beat together the butter and sugar on medium speed just until light and fluffy.

Next, beat in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. If you are using a stand mixer make sure to scrape down the mixture a couple of times. Stir in the vanilla.

In a medium sized bowl combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Stir the flour mixture into the butter mixture alternately with the mashed bananas just until combined. Do not over-mix.

Fold in the chocolate chips and chopped pecans.

Pour the batter in the prepared loaf pan and sprinkle with the coconut topping.

Bake in preheated oven for about one hour. The loaf should be golden brown. I always check to see if it is done by inserting a toothpick in the center. If it comes out clean it is done. If it is wet, bake a little longer.

Adapted from Canadian Living Magazine (with a few tweaks)