Years and years ago before I went vegan, a lovely neighbor brought me the most delicious chocolate chip zucchini bread. The loaf had an extraordinary sugary crust that gave the slices a satisfying crunch on the edges.

Naturally, I begged her for the recipe. I’ve revamped it here to make it vegan, as well as significantly reducing the sugar and fat content, however I wouldn’t go as far as to classify this as “health food.” Regardless, it still tastes delightfully indulgent and it’s a wonderful way to use up any surplus of zucchini you may have.

Feel free to omit the chocolate chips or add nuts to make this recipe more to your personal liking. Don’t hesitate to fight for the end pieces.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

• 3 cups organic unbleached all purpose flour. To make this loaf gluten-free, use a gluten-free cup for cup replacement flour plus 1 teaspoon xanthan gum
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 cup organic sugar
• 1/2 cup organic light brown sugar, firmly packed
• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 1/2 cup aquafaba
• 1/2 cup safflower or other neutral vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup unsweetened organic applesauce
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup vegan fair trade chocolate chips

Method: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl. Add the cinnamon, baking powder, salt, sugar and brown sugar. Combine all the ingredients with a wire whisk. Add the zucchini to the bowl and toss in the flour mixture until evenly distributed. Add the aquafaba, safflower oil, applesauce and vanilla. Stir until everything is well incorporated but do not over mix. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Take two 8×4 loaf tins and generously grease them with vegan butter. Add two heaped tablespoons of sugar to each loaf tin. Tilt the tins to evenly dust the sugar around to the entire interior of the tins. Gently tap out any excess sugar into the sink. Scoop batter into the sugared loaf tins, evenly distributing between the two loaves.

Bake for 60 to 70 minutes until loaves are deeply golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let loaves cool for a couple of minutes in their tins before running a butter knife along the edges to carefully loosen the loaves prior to turning out onto a wire rack to further cool prior to serving. If the bread feels like it might stick, use the knife as a lever gently along the bottom edges too.

Makes 2 loaves.