Zucchini bread with smoked tea, cinnamon & star anise

Hi!

There is something wonderfully autumnal about cakey breads like banana bread, pumpkin loaf and zucchini bread - they're heady scents of sweet spices filling my kitchen when they come out of the oven to cool.

There are many versions of zucchini bread in the world already, and mine is in no way revolutionary. You can even leave out the smoked tea and star anise, add a little more cinnamon to the batter for a very classic loaf. Or add raisins and chopped walnuts for more texture and slather it with cream cheese icing for a carrot cake alternative.

I did love the subtle hint of smokiness from the lapsang souchong with the cinnamon and star anise, it gives it a campfiry vibe that felt perfect on a lazy, rainy afternoon.

Zucchini bread

Makes 1 loaf

225g brown sugar
2 eggs
140g oil, I used a fruity olive oil, but a neutral oil will work well too
250g all purpose flour
0,5 tsp. baking soda
0,5 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. lapsang souchong tea
1,5 tsp. cinnamon
1 star anise
1 tsp. salt
275-300g zucchini, grated

Grease a 21,5x11,5cm/8,5x4,5 loaf pan and line with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 175C/350F.

Grind the star anise and lapsang souchong tea to a powder and sieve together with the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt, set aside.

Whisk brown sugar, eggs and oil together until sugar is dissolved, gently fold in the flour followed by the grated zucchini.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for about 45-55 minutes, until cake tester or toothpick comes out clean.

Cool in the tin until cooled enough to handle, remove from tin and finish cooling on a wire rack.