Carrot-zucchini bread with candied ginger is a scrumptious quick bread that has little flecks of spicy ginger to liven things up. Cinnamon, ground ginger, and carrots also give it a definite carrot cake vibe that makes it a hit for breakfast or snacking.
Adapted from Janet Fletcher | Eating Local | Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2010
The idea for jazzing up quick bread recipes comes from Annie Baker, a respected pastry chef in California’s Napa Valley. Wrap and freeze the second zucchini bread if you don’t plan to eat it within a day or two.–Janet Fletcher | Chefs of Sur La Table
WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO MINCE CANDIED GINGER?
As you make this zucchini bread recipe, you may find yourself frustrated at the stick-to-it-iveness of the candied ginger. A sharp knife helps, for sure. But this little tip is also worth its weight in gold, we think. Take a paper towel that’s been doused with a little bit of mild tasting oil, and occasionally slick the blade as you’re slicing. That candied ginger will lose all of its overzealous attachment issues. Our tester Leanne Abe uses flour sprinkled over the ginger, rather than the oil slicked knife and swears that it works just as well.
Carrot-Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 3 cups sifted unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt or sea salt
- 1/2 cup minced candied ginger see LC Note above
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup canola oil
- 1 3/4 cups sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup carrots peeled and grated on the large holes of a box grater
- 1 cup zucchini peeled and grated on the large holes of a box grater
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 325ºF (162°C). Coat two 9-by-5 or 8 1/2-by-4 1/2 loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray.
- Sift together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, and baking powder in a medium bowl. Stir in the salt and candied ginger.
- In a large bowl, whisk the eggs until light and foamy. Add the canola oil, sugar, and vanilla, whisking vigorously until the sugar dissolves. Whisk in the carrots and zucchini.
- Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture all at once and stir with a wooden spoon just until blended. Divide the batter evenly between the 2 prepared pans.
- Bake until the zucchini bread is well risen and firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 1 hour. Let the zucchini bread cool in the pans on a rack for 10 minutes, then invert them and finish cooling them right side up on the rack. Of course, a thin slice for the cook while the loaves are warm isn’t out of the question.
Show Nutrition
Originally published September 16, 2010