Review: Lemon Zucchini Loaf

This is going to be my last zucchini post for awhile.  I promise.  I have now officially used it all up.  This time, I wanted something with no chocolate or cinnamon.  I just wanted something a little different.  I went for a zucchini lemon loaf.  Exciting, right?

I made the mistake of trying this recipe on a day my boys were home from school.  Luckily, it was also the day of our first snowfall, so they were playing outside.  Every ingredient I threw into the bowl, I did a silent prayer of thanks.  The problem is, this loaf called for the zest of a lemon.  Then, I compounded that problem by doubling the recipe (remember, I had that enormous zucchini to get rid of). So, it required the zest of two lemons, along with the juice of two lemons.  So, there was a lot of this:

Wouldn't you know it, I was just combining the wet and dry ingredients, and my 7 year old came in crying that his brother hit him in the head with a snowball.  Grrrr.  I was so close to getting it done!  After some consoling, I was able to get the loaves into the oven.

The recipe I went with had 160k pins, so I figured it had to be a good one! Here is the original link to the recipe:
Lemon Zucchini Loaf

I only altered it slightly.  This time, I actually used white sugar, rather than my coconut sugar because I wanted it to be a light, pretty colour.  I know that's ridiculous.  Also, I never have buttermilk on hand, and refuse to buy one because it just gets thrown out.  I made my own with one cup of milk mixed with one tablespoon of lemon juice and let it sit for 10 minutes.  I also left out the glaze.  Here is the recipe I used (x2). 

Lemon Zucchini Loaf

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/2 cup melted coconut oil
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk substitute (see above)
Juice of one lemon
Zest of one lemon
1.5 cups of grated zucchini

In a large bowl, blend flour, baking powder, and salt.

In a medium bowl, beat the eggs, add oil, sugar, and blend well.  Add buttermilk (or substitute), lemon juice, lemon zest, and blend well.  Fold in Zucchini.

Add wet ingredients to dry and mix just until blended.

Pour batter into a 9x5 loaf pan, and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  Cool in pan for 5 minutes and turn on to wire rack to cool completely.

So, I took mine out after 45 minutes and they looked a little on the dark side.  I could have just used coconut sugar!  The good news is, the flavour was fabulous.  This loaf was moist and lemony and I loved it.  However, my boys claimed they liked it, but it never got eaten.  I kept finding half eaten pieces. Usually, my baking is gone within 24 hours.  There was still some left after 3 days.  That made my husband happy, because he loved it too and was thrilled to take the rest of it to work to have with his coffee.  I guess my kids would rather the chocolaty stuff!  Here is my finished product.  Don't laugh at the colour.  I didn't really BURN them.  They just look tanned.

What to search for on Pinterest: Lemon Zucchini Loaf (or see link above for original recipe)
Pros: Moist, lemony, delicious
Cons: Lemon zest is a painful process, not to make when you are in a hurry
Would I make this again? Unlikely, but not because it wasn't delicious.  This recipe was fabulous.  It's just that when I bake, I bake for my kids and not myself.  I don't need the added calories. It clearly wasn't a favorite of theirs, but now I know they don't appreciate lemon like we do.  Live and learn!