Zucchini Bread with Cream Cheese Frosting
I always seem to have a lot of zucchini around and when I knew I'd be picking my sister up from the airport Monday morning, I decided to whip up a few loaves of zucchini bread because what's better than "welcome home" zucchini bread?
This bread isn't overly sweet but once paired with homemade cream cheese frosting it all comes together! You can swap out the walnuts for almonds or pistachios and the raisins for golden ones or dried cranberries if you prefer them. Also, chocolate chips can be added too! One other optional substitution is to swap out half of the all-purpose flour for whole wheat flour which would add a more robust flavor, texture, and additional nutrients (fiber, protein, vitamins) back into your flour mix.
This bread isn't overly sweet but once paired with homemade cream cheese frosting it all comes together! You can swap out the walnuts for almonds or pistachios and the raisins for golden ones or dried cranberries if you prefer them. Also, chocolate chips can be added too! One other optional substitution is to swap out half of the all-purpose flour for whole wheat flour which would add a more robust flavor, texture, and additional nutrients (fiber, protein, vitamins) back into your flour mix.
Zucchini Bread
makes 2 loaves
Ingredients
3 eggs
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
2 cups grated zucchini
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup crushed pineapple (canned)
3 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp kosher salt
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup raisins
Frosting Ingredients
8 oz cream cheese, room temp
1 stick butter, room temp
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract
8 oz confectioners sugar (1/2 pound), sifted
pinch of salt
pinch of salt
Method
1. preheat 350 oven
2. grease and flour two bread pans (Pam bakers spray works great).
3. beat eggs, oil, and sugar with a whisk in a large bowl. Add zucchini, vanilla extract, almond extract, and pineapple
4. Combine all the rest of your dry ingredients in a separate bowl, withholding the walnuts and raisins.
5. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and then stir in walnuts and raisins.
6. Pour batter into pans and bake for 55-65 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted and removed cleanly in the center of each loaf. Let cool while you make your frosting.
7. For frosting, mix all ingredients together until smooth and creamy
8. Spread frosting over cooled loaves and top with a sprinkle of chopped walnuts
9. enjoy!
Sarah Simms