As the weather’s been turning cooler, I’ve found myself craving something sweet. Sweet, but not ice cream and not chocolate, something light and, say, lemony. So I dug through my recipe files and found this. It calls for zucchini, which is long gone from our garden but plenty present in our deep freeze. When I made it, it was everything I was hoping for: moist and bright and just a touch sweet. Even the child who proclaimed she “doesn’t really like lemon” managed to polish off two slices in one sitting. I made one loaf with icing and the other without. Both were winners.
Makes 2 loaves
Recipe adapted from Two Peas & Their Pod
Ingredients
For the bread:
- 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. fine sea salt
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. aluminum-free baking powder
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- zest of 2 large lemons
- 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups grated zucchini
For the icing:
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 3 Tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease two loaf pans. Set aside.
- Measure and mix together flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine sugar and lemon zest.
- Add eggs, olive oil, lemon juice and vanilla to the sugar and lemon mixture. Whisk until smooth.
- Stir in the dry ingredients until combined. The batter will be thick. Stir in the zucchini and pour the batter into the prepared loaf pans.
- Bake for 60-65 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Place the loaves on a cooling rack for 15 minutes. Loosen the sides of the bread with a knife. Carefully remove the loaves from the pans. Let cool completely on rack.
- While the bread is cooling, make the lemon glaze. In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar and lemon juice. Whisk until smooth. Drizzle the glaze over the loaves. Slice and serve.