Lemon Zucchini Bread

Given the abundance of zucchini I picked from my garden this week, I decided to make some zucchini bread for a family gathering. I found this recipe for Lemon Zucchini Bread at Allrecipes. The lemon and zucchini make a really good combination, and it is a nice change from the usual spiced zucchini bread that is so popular. I did make some changes to original recipe. I added more lemon zest and shredded zucchini to the bread and I decreased the amount of sugar. I also made simple glaze of lemon juice and confectioner's sugar to pour over the top of the bread.


Lemon Zucchini Bread
Adapted from Allrecipes.com

Serves 8

Bread:
2 cups shredded zucchini
1/2 cup white sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 Tbsp. lemon zest

Glaze:
-Juice from 1/2 a lemon
-1/2 to 3/4 cup confectioner's sugar


Directions:

-Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease and flour an 8x4 inch loaf pan.
-In a bowl, stir together the zucchini, sugar, egg, and oil. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder; stir in the cinnamon and lemon zest. Stir the flour mixture into the zucchini mixture just until blended. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. (I just mixed this by hand, there was no need to use a mixer.)
-Bake 50 minutes in the preheated oven or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from heat, and cool about 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
-Meanwhile, make the glaze. Combine the lemon juice with the confectioner's sugar and stir until the sugar is dissolved. How much sugar you use depends on how thick you like your glaze. I used about 3/4 of a cup.
-Once the bread has cooled, drizzle the glaze over the bread and enjoy!



Notes: This is a wonderful recipe for zucchini bread. I got compliments from people who claim not to like zucchini bread at all, but they liked this version. I think I will make this many more times. I plan on also trying a healthier version by substituting applesauce for the oil and using whole wheat pastry flour instead of all-purpose flour. I would probably add even more lemon zest next time because I really love the lemon flavor in this bread.