This is one impressive loaf! It’s tasty on day one and even better on day two. My favourite part is the texture and flavour of the crust, which even holds up well after a snooze in the fridge. The recipe author suggests leaving it in the fridge over night, this allows the cake to become even more moist and also develop a deeper flavour.
It did take a bit of time, as you must grate and then drain the zucchini, as well as zest two lemons, but generally this loaf is fairly easy and well worth the effort.
Lemon Poppyseed Zucchini Bread
3 cups grated zucchini
grated zest of 2 large lemons
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 cups brown sugar (packed softly)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons poppy seeds
optional: tiny pinch of nutmeg
optional: a small grated piece of fresh ginger
Drain zucchini: Preheat the oven to 350. In a small mixing bowl, mix the zucchini with 1/4 cup brown sugar. Transfer the mixture to a fine-mesh strainer set over the mixing bowl. Fill another small bowl with water and set it directly on top of the zucchini so that it is pushing down, pressing the water out into the bowl below.
Add wet ingredients: Line a 9×5 loaf pan with parchment paper. Whisk together the remaining brown sugar, eggs, lemon zest, and vanilla until well blended. Beat in the olive oil gradually, whisking it in until it’s thoroughly incorporated.
Add dry ingredients: Stir in the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, poppy seeds, nutmeg, and ginger until just combined. Add the pressed zucchini to the batter and stir it in gently until evenly incorporated.
Bake: Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for about 1 hour and 10 minutes. The outer crust of the bread will be firm to the touch and on the darker side of golden brown (see FAQs).
Cool the bread in the pan for about 20 minutes. Remove, cut, and serve.
To make these into muffins, follow steps 1-3 as listed, and then pour the batter into a greased muffin tin. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 mins. Full recipe will make about 18 muffins.