Sourdough Brown Butter Chocolate Zucchini Loaf
This isn’t just zucchini bread. This is the best chocolate cake you've ever eaten disguised as zucchini bread. Rich brown butter with a little espresso and gooey chocolate take this loaf from nostalgic to irresistible. And yes, there’s zucchini in there. You’ll barely know it’s there, but your loaf’s moisture and tender crumb will thank you. If you want to have your kids begging for seconds, just whip up this Sourdough Brown Butter Chocolate Zucchini Bread!
Equipment
- Hand mixer or sturdy whisk to mix batter
- 2 Mixing bowls to mix wet and dry ingredients
- Spatula to spread batter
- Cheese or veggie peeler for grating zucchini
- Parchment paper to line pan to avoid burning
- 9x5-inch loaf pan to bake loaf
- Kitchen scale (optional) for precise measurements
- Cooling wrack to cool loaf
Ingredients
Sourdough Brown Butter Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Wet Ingredients:
- 1½ cups (180g) finely shredded zucchini
- 6 tbsp (85g) unsalted butter, browned
- ¼ cup (60g) sour cream
- ⅓ cup (100g) packed brown sugar
- ⅓ cup (90g) granulated sugar
- 1½ tsp vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup (80g) sourdough starter
- 2 large eggs
Dry Ingredients:
- 1⅓ cups (160g) all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup (30g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ¼ tsp espresso powder
Optional Mix-Ins:
- 1 cup (180g) mini chocolate chips, plus more for topping
Instructions
Brown the Butter:
- In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until the butter foams and turns a rich amber color with brown specks at the bottom, emitting a nutty aroma. Remove from heat immediately. This process typically takes about 5-7 minutes.6 tbsp (85g) unsalted butter, browned
- Once butter is browned, remove the saucepan from heat and transfer the bowl you'll be using to mix your batter.
Grate Zucchini:
- Grate fresh zucchini until you have roughly 1 1/2 cups (180g). Lay out a paper towel and spread zucchini over paper towel in a thin layer. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon sea salt all over the zucchini. This process is called "sweating" and will help remove some of the moisture. Let zucchini rest for 10 minutes.1½ cups (180g) finely shredded zucchini
- After ten minute rest pat with paper towels or a lint-free kitchen towel to remove excess moisture. Transfer shredded zucchini to a bowl and set aside. If you choose to do an overnight fermentation, you can save this step for the morning you wish to bake your loaf.
Mix Batter:
- In the bowl you poured your brown butter, add the sour cream and whisk to gently cool off the butter before adding the rest of your wet ingredients. Add brown sugar, white sugar, vanilla, sourdough starter, and eggs to the bowl.¼ cup (60g) sour cream, ⅓ cup (100g) packed brown sugar, ⅓ cup (90g) granulated sugar, 1½ tsp vanilla extract, ⅓ cup (80g) sourdough starter, 2 large eggs
- Beat wet ingredients with a whisk or a hand mixer until everything is well combined.
- In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and cocoa. Whisk to combine dry ingredients.1⅓ cups (160g) all-purpose flour, ⅓ cup (30g) unsweetened cocoa powder, 2 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp baking soda, ½ tsp salt, 1 tsp cinnamon, ¼ tsp espresso powder
- Add dry ingredients to wet, and gently mix to combine. You don't want any streaks of flour, but be careful not to overmix at the same time. At this point, you can decide to do an overnight ferment option or skip the next step and bake same-day.
Overnight ferment option:
- Cover batter with plastic and refrigerate overnight. Remove bowl from refrigerator and allow to rest 30 minutes at room temperature. While batter is warming, prepare your zucchini as listed above.
- Fold shredded zucchini and mini chocolate chips into your batter.1 cup (180g) mini chocolate chips, plus more for topping
Bake the Zucchini Bread:
- Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease and line a 9x5-inch loaf pan with parchment paper.
- Pour batter into pan, smooth the top, and make a line with your spatula down the center to guide the expansion. Sprinkle with a few more mini chocolate chips. Bake 50–60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Batter should only fill pan 2/3 of the way full- more than this could lead to spillage. I like to place a cookie sheet on the rack beneath my bread to avoid any messy ovens. Loaf internal temperature should be 200-205 F when done.
- Cool in pan 10 minutes, then transfer to a rack. Allow to cool 30 minutes before slicing.
- Yields 1 loaf