This sweet piece of chocolate heaven is for all the chocoholics out there. and I mean all of them! This recipe has been tested with regular all-purpose flour and gluten free flour, therefore can be made with either. It can also be adapted to be made vegan by subbing the yogurt for coconut yogurt or apple sauce. My advice - get creative!

Cacao and cocoa differ mainly in their processing. Cocoa is heated to high temperatures during processing, whereas cacao is cold-pressed. Processing at cool temperatures results in a final product with a slightly higher vitamin and mineral content alongside slightly higher levels of fibre and healthy fats. However, cacao is a bit more expensive than cocoa, therefore makes substitution more difficult for many. At the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter if you use cacao or cocoa, it’ll be just as chocolatey and delicious either way.

I use yogurt in this recipe to add moisture and that lovely probiotic tang, however if you are a vegan coconut yogurt or apple sauce can easily be substituted here!

The parchment-handle technique I use here I learned from Bon Apetit. The chefs over there frequently use the long parchment pieces when cooking anything that needs to be lifted cleanly out of a pan, and it works!

*makes 1 loaf

Ingredients:

2 eggs or flax eggs (2 tbsp flax + 6 tbsp water)

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp sea salt

1 cup all purpose flour (or gluten free flour blend)

1/2 cup almond flour

1/3 cup cacao (or cocoa powder)

2/3 cup brown sugar (or coconut sugar)

1/3 cup neutral oil (or coconut oil)

1/2 cup yogurt (or coconut yogurt or apple sauce)

1/4 cup milk of choice

1 tsp apple cider vinegar, natural unfiltered

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup grated zucchini, water squeezed out & packed

1/4 cup dark chocolate chunks + more for topping

Directions:

Prepare your flax eggs in a small bowl and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 C.

Prepare a loaf pan by oiling it with coconut oil & placing a piece of parchment in it with a 3 inch overhang on the long sides. See the photo above for reference.

Whisk together dry ingredients in a large bowl (baking powder, baking soda, gluten free flour blend, brown rice flour, almond flour & cacao powder).

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the coconut sugar and softened coconut oil vigorously until combined. Add the rest of the liquid ingredients and whisk until incorporated (flax eggs, yogurt, milk, apple cider vinegar, vanilla extract).

Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour wet ingredients into dry. Mix with a wooden spoon until incorporated. The batter will be a bit thick. Now you can mix the zucchini and chocolate chunks into the batter.

Pour batter into prepared loaf pan and top with extra chocolate chunks.

Bake at 350 C for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Enjoy!