By Renee Martinez
Easy and yummy!!
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup canola oil
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup sour cream – you can also replace this with apple sauce or yogurt.
1-1/2 cup grated zucchini (about 1 medium zucchini)
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips, if you only have regular-sized chocolate chips – just roughly chop them up and it will work just fine
optional: zest from one orange
Topping Ingredients:
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon white sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
Butter and flour 1 9-inch or 8-inch loaf pan and set aside.
TIP: After buttering and flouring the pan, wipe down about 1-inch all along the top of the pan with a towel so there is a margin where it is clean. This will give the bread something to “cling” onto and rise nicely.
Mix the topping ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
Put flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder in a bowl, and whisk until combined. Set aside.
With a mixer – beat oil, white sugar, brown sugar, and eggs until combined and slightly fluffy, 1-2 minutes.
Add the vanilla and sour cream. Combine well.
Gently fold in the zucchini (and zest, if using). Add the chocolate chips, and fold. Do not over mix.
Sprinkle the topping over the loaf, and bake in the oven for 50-60 minutes. Start checking at the 45-minute mark. When your kitchen starts to smell yummy, start testing for done-ness with a toothpick or knife.
NOTE: When checking for done-ness, keep in mind that the toothpick or knife may come out messy even when the batter is cooked because of the melted chocolate chips.
You can also use this recipe for muffins/cupcakes. Just bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes!
About the Author: Renee Martinez consults and speaks professionally on social media marketing, integrated marketing communications, public relations and branding. She is the president of Ruby Marketing Communications (www.rubymarcom.com), a boutique marketing communications company that specializes in providing branding, social media strategy and integration, and creative services. Her blog (www.lisac95.sg-host.com), provides resources on everything marketing and social media for her active audience.
Renee has contributed as a featured monthly columnist in the monthly jewelry industry publication, JCK on matters related to internet marketing as well as in InStore Magazine as a featured blogger where she writes about developing effective marketing strategies for the jewelry industry using social media. She is the founder of: Social Media Biz Summit (www.socialmediabizsummit.com), the first large-scale SM conference to come to Buffalo, NY; #jewelrychat, a weekly twitter chat for the jewelry industry and www.RaisingBoysWorld.com. Renee teaches social marketing courses at Canisius College in Buffalo, NY for the business school as well as offers small group social media marketing training and educational seminars for businesses in Western New York and beyond.
Renee has dabbled in internet marketing arena since the early 90′s and is not ashamed to call herself a “marketing geek”. From chatting in AOL, “sharing” music on Napster, and teaching HTML classes before it was considered “cool” to developing comprehensive social media strategies, effective public relations campaigns and managing online communities (most recently Chevy Girls Buffalo).
She enjoys being able to help people find their voice online and to create buzz about their product or service that will give them the results they desire. Renee can be found on Twitter (@reneemmartinez) and Facebook (http:/www.facebook.com/RubyMarCom).
