This recipe is called Zucchini Walnut Bread with Agave, and when you pull it out of the oven you'll wonder why you didn't open a bakery. Just kidding, or maybe not? This loaf has such a beautifully rounded top. It's sweetened with 100% agave, which I bake with on occasion -- not for health reasons, but because agave has some unique properties and baking with it is always kind of an adventure.
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The inspiration for this loaf was a slice of zucchini bread from Tartine Bakery in San Francisco. What I remember most about it was that it was absolutely packed with walnuts and had a bit of a citrus flavor. This one is a little different. The flavors are mainly cinnamon, walnuts and vanilla.
Agave Zucchini Walnut Bread Pan Size
This recipe fits an 8 ½ by 4 ½ inch loaf pan . The bread bakes up very brown (like Tartine's) and would be wonderful with a little orange and lemon zest mixed in. I might even increase the walnuts a bit. When I first started making this I used whole wheat pastry flour. It's harder to find where we live now, so I usually use 240 grams of all-purpose or all-purpose mixed with whole wheat.
Ingredient Notes
- Zucchini -- 240 grams (weighed after draining) of peeled and grated
- Eggs -- 98 grams of eggs (2 large), weight is without shell.
- Oil -- Any
- Honey -- ⅓ cup, which I measured by volume and weight.
- Agave Syrup --
- Vanilla
- Whole Wheat Pastry Flour -- Used Whole Foods 360 brand and weighed 250 grams or use 2 cups minus 2 tablespoons of all-purpose
- Cinnamon
- Baking Powder
- Baking Soda
- Salt
- Walnuts --Barely chopped, about 100 grams
- Zests -- A few scrapes or orange and lemon for a dash of flavor.
Recipe
Zucchini Walnut Bread with Agave
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- ⅓ cup vegetable or olive oil
- ¾ cup agave syrup (240 grams)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ⅔ cups raw zucchini, grated and drained by pressing (240 grams)
- 2 cups whole wheat pastry flour or equivalent** (240 grams)
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon salt scant
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup chopped walnuts (I use 1 full cup now)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease an 8 ½ by 4 ½ inch loaf pan and line with a strip of parchment paper just to help prevent sticking. If you are feeling lucky, skip the parchment and just grease and flour.
- Beat together the eggs, oil, agave and vanilla. Stir in the zucchini.
- Mix the flour, cinnamon, salt, baking powder and baking soda together in a second bowl. Add flour mixture to zucchini mixture and stir until blended. Stir in the nuts.
- Pour batter into the pan and bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let cool for about 10 minutes in the pan, then remove from the pan and let cool completely.
Rachel Barnes says
I have made this twice now, but both times added 2 ripe bananas, 1 cup blueberries, and decreased the oil and agave, and increased the baking time. It turns out very moist! thank you for showing me a healthy way to make some bread. My family loves it!
Karen says
This looks yummy! I'll try making it tonight....I fortunately have all the ingredients!! 🙂 You could maybe substitute pmupkin for the oil, too.
Diane says
I just got the word on Agave too and will try this recipe but I'm going to experiment and use applesauce instead of the oil.
Gloria says
Just made a no processed sugar banana walnut bread with whole wheat pastry flour, agave, and splenda for my diabetic family and friends. I can barely taste the splenda-a good thing!! If not for this recipe I would not be aware of WW pastry flour OR agave. Thanks again for the post.
Anna says
Wow, that sounds good! Thanks for the improvisations.
Gloria says
Made these in a 9x13 pan and served them like cake. (They would be good in a jelly roll pan as bars too I think-frosted with a sugar free cream cheese frosting.) I only had one cup of zucchini so I used another cup of shredded carrots and they were pretty with the orange carrots and green zucchini (I didn't peel before shredding.) These were excellent! So moist and tender. Thanks for the recipe!
gloria says
Do you think this would work as bars in a 9 x 13 pan? I think I will frost it with this sugarfree frosting found on allrecipes.com
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Sugar-Free-Frosting/Detail.aspx
Gloria says
I now have 3 bottles of Agave! I found my own at Trader Joe's ($3.99 for 11 oz) and then one of my friends surprised me at work with (2) 21 oz bottles for $7.70 purchased at Cosco! Excellent price..Will try this again this weekend.
Gloria says
Thanks for the positive innovative!! The recipe must be a good one because I totally screwed it up and it still came out edible. First, no agave and I didn't really think out the substitutions well, second when I incorporated the dry into the wet, I realized I hadn't preheated the oven, then I tasted the batter and realized my subs didn't give it enough sweeteness so I started mixing more stuff in. The batter was bubbling at me and I said what I usually say when I totally flub something.....
!*%@
and then said Oh Well, my mom can always slap some butter on it. Butter or frosting fixes a lot around here!
Anna says
Hi Gloria, I hope you can find agave. Your subsitution sounds innovative, but agave would probably be better. Why don't you order the Xagave? It's good stuff.
Gloria says
I couldn't find agave nectar at the grocery store so I tried this recipe using a 12 oz jar of sugar free apricot jam, 1/2 cup of apple juice concentrate, and another almost 1/2 cup of splenda. It worked, but it could have used more sweetness. I'm guessing agave is fairly sweet..When I find agave, I'll give it a try. Thanks for the inspiration!
Gloria says
If I used regular unbleached flour, do you know how that would change the recipe? I don't usually have whole wheat pastry flour around.
Christie says
Oh, I love zucchini bread, and the addition of agave nectar makes it even better.
LilSis says
I've still never made anything with Agave nectar, so now might be the time to try it! I love Zucchini bread and this recipe sounds really good! I especially like that you said it is cinnamony!
gloria says
I will try this because it looks good and you have given it a thumbs up. I've never looked for Agave at the grocery store. I wonder if it will be difficult to find..What section would it be in? Juices? My mom is diabetic so she should be able to eat this.
Dena Pickle says
I nominated you for a Kreativ Blogger award. Check here for rules and instructions.
http://sweetpicklesandchocolate.blogspot.com/2009/10/what-nomination-me-there-must-be.html
Lu says
Yummy! I love zucchini bread.
Susie says
I am all about the agave nectar right now! I love that it does not really affect the taste like other sweeteners. How was the taste of the bread?
sherri says
I've never tried agave, but this looks wonderful.
Katrina says
That was good zucchini bread in SF! This looks like a good one, too. I've been liking the results with my baking almost every time I use agave!
Rina says
This looks great! I might try it and add chopped dried apricots (I think the Tartine version had these, but I can't remember :)). I scored a big bottle of Agave at Costco and was scanning the link you sent out a while back with related recipes - I will let you know if I find a winner!
Fat Fudge says
Here's a really great zuchinni bread recipe that uses agave nectar. Because I am a vegan, I used oil instead of butter and a flaxseed slurry instead of the egg.
http://cook-aunaturel.blogspot.com/2008/05/i-have-to-stress-that-this-bread-is.html
Kelly says
Yum. That looks tremendously moist.
Jessica @ How Sweet It Is says
I love the healthy twist. It looks delish.