Zucchini Pumpkin Spice Walnut Loaf

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: North American

Prep Time: 30

Cook Time: 50

Total Time: 1 20

Servings:

Calories: 307kcal

Author: Lord Byron's Kitchen

Best served with tea as an afternoon snack, this Zucchini Pumpkin Spice Walnut Loaf is very moist and packed with shredded zucchini, sweet chopped dates, and crunchy walnuts. Loaded with pumpkin spice seasoning blend, this loaf makes a great gift idea, and can be easily frozen for later too!

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Ingredients

2 cups chopped dates
⅓ cup butter, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup tea, strong and hot
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup shredded zucchini, see notes
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons pumpkin spice blend
2 large eggs, whisked
1 cup chopped walnuts

Instructions

Place the chopped dates into a large mixing bowl. Add the butter, salt, baking soda, and brown sugar.
Pour the hot tea over the ingredients and stir to combine. Set aside to cool.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and prepare a loaf pan by spraying it lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
Once the dates have cooled, add the vanilla extract and shredded zucchini. Stir well to combine.
Add the flour, baking powder, pumpkin spice blend, and beaten eggs to the date mixture.
Using a spatula, fold the dry ingredients into the date mixture.
Next, fold in the chopped walnuts.
Transfer the batter to the loaf pan. (You can top the filled loaf pan with extra walnuts or chopped dates if you wish.)
Bake for 50 minutes. Test to see if the loaf is baked by inserting a toothpick into the loaf. If it comes out clean, the loaf is ready. If not, bake for another 5 minutes and test with a toothpick once again.
Allow the loaf to cool in the loaf pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and sit on a wire cooling rack to cool completely.

Notes

To get rid of the water in zucchini, there’s a very easy solution. Grate the zucchini very finely using either a box grater or a food processor. Once the zucchini has been grated, I like to let it just sit in a bowl for about fifteen to twenty minutes just so that it can relax a bit. The grated strands will slowly release the water. Next, transfer the squeezed zucchini to the center of a clean kitchen towel. Once all the zucchini is piled high into the center of the towel, gather up the sides and twist to get as much water as possible out of the zucchini. Unfold the towel and transfer the zucchini to a bowl. Lightly fluff it with a fork before measuring the amount needed for your recipe.

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