Chocolate Zucchini Bread - yum!

I read a wonderful blog called Kalyn's Kitchen on an almost daily basis. Kalyn blogs on South Beach diet recipes, so her recipes generally fit into my eating plan. She bakes on a regular basis and yesterday's post made me drool - Chocolate Zucchini Bread (I love all things chocolate AND zucchini).

Now, Kalyn, being a South Beach enthusiast, bakes with a lot of Splenda. I don't use Splenda because it tastes gross and leaves a bitter aftertaste. When I looked at her recipe, I realized there was very little liquid in it, so agave nectar would work well as a replacement. I also decided to give the bread a little nutritional boost by replacing half of the whole wheat flour with almond meal. The resulting bread is yum, yum, yummy and the texture is perfect.

Chocolate Zucchini Bread (makes 12 generous servings)

2 eggs

1/2 C light agave nectar

1/2 C dark agave nectar

5 T canola oil

1 t vanilla

1/4 C buttermilk (or make your own with 1/4 t white vinegar added to 1/4 C milk)

1 1/2 C grated zucchini (about 1 large zucchini)

1/2 C almond meal

1/2 C whole grain whole wheat flour

1 t baking soda

1/4 t baking powder

1/2 C cocoa powder

1/4 t salt

3/4 C chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350F/175C. Spray a loaf pan with nonstick spray and set aside.

In a small bowl, combine the eggs, agave, brown sugar, oil, vanilla, and buttermilk. Stir in the grated zucchini. Set aside.

In a larger bowl, mix together the flour, almond meal, baking soda, baking powder, unsweetened cocoa powder, and salt. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and stir just enough to combine. Then fold in chopped walnuts.

Scrape the batter into loaf pan that has been sprayed with nonstick spray. Bake 45-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean. Let bread cool in the pan, then slice and serve.