IL PRIMO PANE DELL’ESTATE… Sweet Potato Zucchini Bread (with Raisins!)

by valentinalucia

I finally got to bake today! WOO! Pro of the day – I got to bake. Con of the day – in my dad’s apartment, we don’t have large bowls.

This could pose a problem for mixing and stirring. It did pose a problem for mixing and stirring – but I got through it spilling little to no ingredients 🙂

If I can bake in such small confines, I can bake almost anywhere. I created my own version of Joy the Baker’s Zucchini Sweet Potato Bread with the ingredients I had around the apartment and the ingredient my mom was nice enough to pick up for me over the weekend. I renamed my version as such, for I only used a half cup of zucchini and three times as much sweet potato. This may seem out of proportion, however the cake turned out very nicely! Also, being a cinnamon addict, used one full tablespoon of cinnamon. Immediately as I took the cake out of the oven, I could smell the lovely mixed aromas of the cinnamon and dash of nutmeg in the recipe.

What I loved so much about the way this cake turned out was that it’s sweet, but not too sweet. There’s two cups of sugar in the cake according to Joy the Baker – one cup white granulated sugar, and one cup brown sugar. What I did (which I think made all the difference in the end) was I split up the brown sugar – a half cup light brown sugar and a half cup dark brown sugar. I think this gave the cake a different sweet-dimension, it wasn’t just that molasses-y sweetness of dark brown sugar or just the airier sweetness of light brown sugar, it was a happy medium of both. The raisins also added their own type of sweetness which is apparent, but not overpowering. I think next time I make this I might add a half cup of nuts, such as walnuts, to add another bit of bite to the cake.

And, want to know the best part? Applesauce, baby! There isn’t a lick of butter in this entire cake! And it’s still fantastic! I think using applesauce makes the cake lighter and fluffier, so no need to feel guilty taking a second piece 😉

Sweet Potato Zucchini Bread

Ingredients:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup dark brown sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

3/4 cup applesauce

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup grated zucchini

1 1/2 cup grated sweet potato

1 cup raisins

Preparations:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a 9×9 inch pan with cooking pray and set aside.

2. Sift first six ingredients together in a bowl. In a separate bowl, beat sugar, applesauce, eggs, and vanilla. Mix in zucchini and sweet potato. Add dry ingredients into wet ingredients and stir to combine. Fold in raisins.

3. Pour batter into pan. Bake until toothpick inserted in middle of cake comes out clean – about one hour. Cool in pan on a rack for about 15 minutes. Loosen edges of cake with knife, remove from pan and let rest on rack to cool completely. Wrap in foil and keep at room temperature to store.