The Fruity Way To Sweeten Zucchini Bread And Keep It Moist

Though most people immediately picture a warm, comforting dessert, perusing a complete guide to quick breads swiftly reveals this isn't always the case when it comes to this category of baked goods. Nestled among instructions for baking sugary, delicious banana bread are recipes for biscuits of biscuits and gravy fame, scones both sweet and savory, and even veggie-rich loaves like zucchini bread. Infused with heaps of grated zucchini, this bread is sweet without being overly sugary, leading some to place it firmly in the category of breakfast pastry rather than a dessert.

Whether you consider this summery quick bread breakfast, dessert, or something in between, no one can deny how tasty it is. The zucchini adds moisture (especially if it's pureed first), along with a subtle astringency that adds interest to the bread's flavor, along with a lightly chewy texture. Of course, since most recipes instruct bakers to squeeze the moisture from the shredded or pureed zukes, the resulting loaf can sometimes turn out in dry and crumbly. Not to mention, it needs a little more sugar than, say, apple bread to reach optimum levels of sweetness.

If you're looking for creative ways to add moisture to your zucchini bread without making it soggy, crushed pineapple may be the solution you're looking for, especially if you have a sweet tooth. Not only is crushed pineapple a tasty, tropical burger topping, it's also chock-full of bright fruitiness to make your bread sweeter without adding extra refined sugar. Simply use a 2:1 ratio of zucchini to pineapple to keep the pineapple from becoming the dominant flavor.

As mentioned, it's important to use the right ratio of zucchini to pineapple to prevent the pineapple from taking over the bread. Both flavors should be present, but since pineapple is a fairly strong flavor, you'll need less of it than the zucchini to make this moist quick bread correctly. Using less pineapple also helps prevent the bread from becoming overly sweet, especially since you'll be using both granulated sugar and canned, crushed pineapple, which has sugar added to it during manufacturing.

That's why the 2:1 ratio works, especially if you're modifying an existing recipe. For instance, if your current recipe calls for 3 cups of zucchini, you can simply replace 1 cup with crushed pineapple. If your recipe calls for just 2 cups of zucchini, some slightly fancier math reveals that you'll need ⅔ cup of crushed pineapple to 1 ⅓ cup of zucchini. Elevating your zucchini bread this way also provides an opportunity to embrace tropical flavors in any textural ingredients you might use, such as crunchy nuts or dried fruits.

For instance, many zucchini recipes call for additions like raisins and walnuts. To truly embrace the theme of summer and warm weather, you can swap these out for dried coconut and macadamia nuts, chopped and dried papaya and cashews, or dried cranberries tossed together with candied orange peel and crushed pecans. You could even swap out the expected vanilla extract for an extract that complements your mix-ins, such as coconut, almond, or orange.