Zucchini Bars w/ Spiced Brown Butter Frosting

Ladies and gentlemen, please stand and welcome my guest for this post, zucchini!!! Umm... you, yeah you, why aren't you standing? What, you don't like zucchini?? My friend, obviously you have not met these zucchini bars! One bite and I promise you and zucchini will be BFFs!! You don't believe me? Well, I wish I could tempt you with a mouth-watering photograph, but sadly my good camera is sitting in our camper at a campground about 45 minutes away! You'll have to take my word for it that these are totally delicious! It doesn't taste like scary vegetables. It tastes like perfectly moist, extremely flavorful cake with a bit of crunch from some chopped walnuts. It's more like a cake than a "bar." And since it's filled with shredded zucchini, you can forget about all the butter and sugar that's in it and pretend like you're eating healthy! According to my mom, it's in her top 10 best things I've ever baked. I tweaked the frosting a bit by browning the butter first. That really takes the flavor to a new level, but it's just too sweet for my taste. Next time, I'd reduce the frosting recipe by half and just drizzle it on. But other than that, this recipe from The Taste of Home Baking Book is definitely worthy of an A+!
C'mon, you know me! Have I ever put writing on any of my photos? I mean, unless it was for a promo (like for my Christmas Cookie Caper). But other than that, I never put text on my photos because I think it's extremely distracting. Well, in this case that's exactly why I did it. I had to use my old camera for this entry, and it is NOT good for food photography! The best I could do was distract you with words! How 'bout that recipe!!!...

Frosted Cinnamon Zucchini Bars (from The Taste of Home Baking Book)
Yields a 1-inch high cake in a 13-x9-inch pan
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
(I added 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt)
2 cups shredded zucchini (about 2 medium zucchini**)
1 cup flaked coconut (I left this out because I didn't want any flavors competing with the zucchini)
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

FROSTING:
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (I bumped it up to 4 tablespoons and browned it in a saucepan)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3 tablespoons milk

(**Put your shredded zucchini into a lint-free dish towel and squeeze out the excess water. The recipe doesn't say to do this, but if you don't you'll get a soggy cake.)
1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy (about 3-5 minutes). Add eggs, one at a time, beating well (at least 15 seconds) after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder, (and salt); gradually add to the creamed mixture. (Mix just until a few streaks of flour remain.) Stir in zucchini, coconut, and nuts. Spread into a greased 15-x10-x1-inch baking pan (I baked mine in a 13x9 and my cake was only 1-inch high. If you bake it in the 15x10 pan your cake is gonna be paper thin!).
2. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. For frosting, combine confectioners' sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Stir in the butter, vanilla, and enough milk to achieve spreading consistency. Frost bars before cutting.

Baca Juga