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
Instructions
- 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.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Recipe Testers’ Reviews
This is a nice, moist zucchini bread, flecked with color from the carrots and perked up by the candied ginger. My only complaint is that it didn’t use more zucchini. Two shredded medium carrots yielded 1 cup, and half of a large zucchini made 1 shredded cup.
The batter mixed quickly and it was done in an hour. It didn’t rise as much as I thought it would, but that’s okay. It’s not an overwhelmingly spiced cake, and it’s not too sweet either. It was great out of the oven, cooled and nibbled at, and I’m guessing it’ll be fantastic toasted with some butter.
The second loaf went into the freezer for later, but it probably won’t be too long before we’re pulling it out. A tip: If the candied ginger is sticking to your knife too much, sprinkle it with some flour and just mix it in as you’re mincing.
A great twist on a favorite bread. All you need is a bit of cream cheese to get a carrot-cake knockoff. This is a very moist and delightful bread, easy to make and a perfect way to use up the summer stock of zucchini.
The addition of the crystallized ginger is an added bonus. You can find chopped crystallized ginger in small cans in the baking aisle. They’re well worth the purchase to keep on hand for something like this.
This quick bread was a big hit in our house. We enjoyed it as a simple breakfast with hot coffee. It was sweet and a little bit spicy from the bits of candied ginger throughout. I really loved the crispy, crunchy texture of the edges, too.
When I first realized I’d be making two loaves, I thought it would be nice to take the second loaf to work with me the following day, but as I sliced a second and then third piece for myself for breakfast, I realized we might not have much left to share by the time the weekend was over.
I didn’t have the correct-sized loaf pan, so I used 9-by-5-inch pans and checked carefully after the 45-minute mark to make sure I didn’t overbake the loaf. One pan was done at 50 minutes and the other I pulled out at 55. Both had a beautiful texture—soft and slightly dense on the inside, crispy sweet crust on the outside.
Cross carrot cake with zucchini bread, toss in some candied ginger, and you have a tasty, spiced quick bread laced with fresh vegetables. This is a summer treat that makes it worth heating up the kitchen. Some toasted walnuts or pecans would also be a nice addition.
One note: Either these loaves didn’t rise as much as they were supposed to or the pans were larger than they needed to be. Each pan looked as though it had a fairly skimpy allotment of batter, and the final breads were also smaller than I’d have thought.
This sounds so good! I love zucchini bread and candied ginger, so a winner all around, I think.
I made this last night for a dinner party and was delighted with the result. It’s fantastic served with vanilla ice cream or toasted with butter for breakfast.
I only had one 9-by-5-inch pan and filled it up about 1 inch from the top which worked perfectly. There wasn’t much batter left so I filled a smaller pan and made a mini loaf. The 9-by-5-inch pan cooked in about 1 hr 10 mins.
I will add some toasted walnuts or pecans next time to add some crunchiness to the bread.
I made this again last night and accidentally overbaked one of the loafs (they were different sizes). I cut the overbaked loaf into small biscotti-like slices, put them back into the oven on a baking sheet for 10 minutes on each side, and am now enjoying candied ginger zucchini carrot biscotti with my coffee! Next time I make it, I’ll do it on purpose and make one loaf as a bread and the other loaf as a biscotti. Highly rec’d!
Amy, this is brilliant! Love that kitchen serendipity that happens when you open yourself up to possibility. Many thanks for letting us know, I have a hunch there will be lots of us partaking of carrot ginger zucchini biscotti in the very near future…
Amy, I admire your pluck. I would have crumpled into a heap (or slammed pots and pans around, which I am wont to do)–never imagining when life gives me, um, an over-baked loaf, I can make biscotti. (Or something like that.) Brava!
This recipe was easy to make and it had a wonderful texture. It was done in exactly one hour. I did not have the candied ginger on hand but it was still great. Is candied ginger and crystallized the ginger the same thing? My kids loved it.
George, we just realized we never responded to your kind comment! Our profuse apologies! We certainly hope that you’ve been enjoying this recipe over the years. And yes, candied and crystallized are, essentially, the same and interchangeable. Be well.