Zucchini Bread

Ingredients

• 1 pound zucchini (about 3 small or 2 medium), ends trimmed
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup pecans, chopped

Instructions

Lightly grease a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan with butter and dust it with flour. Shred the zucchini on the large holes of a box grater and toss with 2 tablespoons sugar. Transfer the mixture to a fine-mesh strainer and let drain for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk the all-purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, allspice and 1/2 cup sugar together in a medium bowl. Set aside.

After the zucchini has drained, squeeze it dry between several layers of paper towels. Mix the dried zucchini with the yogurt and lemon juice in a small bowl and set aside.

Beat softened butter with the remaining 1/2 cup sugar with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 3-5 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Reduce the mixer speed to low. Beat in half of the flour mixture until just incorporated, followed by one-third of the zucchini mixture, scraping down the bowl as needed. Add half of the remaining flour mixture followed by another one-third of the zucchini mixture. Repeat this process once more, being careful not to overmix the batter.

Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan and sprinkle the top evenly with pecans. Bake in a 375-degree oven until the loaf is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbs attached, about 45-55 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking. Cool the bread in the pan for 10 minutes, then transfer the loaf to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature. The bread can be wrapped with plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Notes

"The original recipe says to bake the bread for 55 minutes... in my "usually average" oven, the pecans were burned even though I took the bread out a couple minutes early. Good recipe, but definitely start checking on the bread at about 45 minutes.