Summer

Zucchini Bread with Dates and Hazelnuts

by:
August 10, 2015
4
3 Ratings
Zucchini Bread with Dates and Hazelnuts
Photo by Renée Kemps
  • Makes one loaf (see headnote)
Author Notes

I used a 30-centimeter (about 12-inch) loaf pan. If you use a standard size (9-inch) pan, you might have to leave out some of the batter or adjust the baking time accordingly. —Renée Kemps

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 450 grams all-purpose or spelt flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/8 teaspoon sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/3 cup coconut (or other) sugar
  • 3/4 cup coconut oil
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 cup dates, pitted
  • 2 cups grated zucchini
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
  • 1/2 cup roughly chopped hazelnuts, plus more for garnish
  • 125 milliliters crème fraîche
  • Juice and zest of 1 lemon, divided
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 350° F (180° C).
  2. In a big bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
  3. In another bowl, whisk together the sugar and oil until well-combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, whisking to combine.
  4. In yet another bowl, use a wooden spoon mash the pitted dates into a paste. Combine the date paste with the egg mixture and mix until smooth.
  5. Add the grated zucchini and vanilla paste.
  6. Fold in the flour mixture and the hazelnuts and mix until just combined.
  7. Grease a large loaf pan (see headnote) and pour the mixture into the pan. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
  8. Let the bread cool completely.
  9. Meanwhile, whip up the crème fraîche with about 1 tablespoon lemon juice until you reach the consistency of whipped cream.
  10. When the courgette bread has cooled down, turn it out of the pan and cut thick slices. Serve with a dollop of lemon-y crème fraîche, some lemon zest, and some crushed hazelnuts.
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7 Reviews

Lisa L.
Lisa L. August 17, 2017
Has anyone tried making this in a 9x5-in. loaf pan? It looks like there's enough flour in this recipe for 2 loaves..
 
Yogigirl
Yogigirl July 16, 2017
I wish I had read Michelle Cheung's comment before attempting this recipe. The proportions do seem to be off. As I was assembling the bread, I thought, have faith it will bake up just fine. It did not :(
 
ghainskom
ghainskom September 11, 2016
Used a mix of whole wheat and AP flour. This is definitely a nice filling not too sweet bread. Thank you for sharing.
 
Jennifer S.
Jennifer S. August 28, 2016
Thank you for the delicious recipie, I have never baked with dates before but I will definitely try to use them more often now. I used slightly less flour then what was asked for in this recipe because I do not have a sifter, also the dates I had were a little dryed out so I soaked them in a little grand marnier which added a nice orange flavor to the loaf.
 
Michelle C.
Michelle C. July 26, 2016
I used AP flour and found the dough to be really dry, there was still a lot of flour that couldn't be incorporated, and I had to add quite a bit of water. Are the proportions off or am I doing something wrong?
 
suziqcu
suziqcu April 7, 2016
Out of spelt...used AP, subbed walnuts and used lemon, lemon peel and ground candied ginger with the date paste. Very high rising luscious looking loaf. Smells heavenly.
 
kalmosbori
kalmosbori August 27, 2015
Yummm, looks lovely!! :) I wonder, would it be possible to use wholemeal (splet) flour or a mixtrue of wholemeal and regular flour for this recipe?