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Brown Butter Maple Zucchini Bread

A cozy, classic zucchini bread with browned butter, maple syrup, cottage cheese, and warm cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and ginger. Dense, tender, and just a little magical.
Print Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Servings: 1 9 x 5-inch loaf
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 10 tbsp unsalted butter brown to about 1/2 cup; use all of the browned butter and milk solids
  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour spooned and leveled
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp fine salt
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 tsp ground cardamom
  • 1/4 tsp ground ginger
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup cottage cheese
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 1/2 cups finely shredded zucchini about 270 g after lightly squeezing out excess moisture
Optional Crumble Topping
  • 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
  • 3 tbsp packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 pinch fine salt
  • 1/8 tsp ground cardamom
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter melted

Equipment

  • 9 x 5-inch loaf pan
  • Blender cup for blending the wet ingredients

Method
 

  1. Melt the butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat. Continue cooking, swirling or stirring frequently, until the milk solids turn deeply golden and the butter smells nutty. Scrape the browned butter, including all of those good brown bits, into a bowl and let it cool until warm.
  2. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan and line with parchment if desired.
  3. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and ginger.
  4. Add the eggs, maple syrup, brown sugar, cottage cheese, vanilla, and cooled browned butter to a blender cup. Blend just until smooth, about 10 to 15 seconds.
  5. Pour the wet mixture into a large bowl and fold in the shredded zucchini.
  6. Add the dry ingredients and fold just until no dry flour remains. Do not overmix.
  7. If using the crumble topping, stir together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and cardamom. Add the melted butter and mix with a fork until crumbles form.
  8. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared loaf pan. If using the crumble, sprinkle it evenly over the top. Bake for about 65 to 70 minutes, until the center is fully set and reaches about 200 to 205°F on an instant-read thermometer. A toothpick may come out clean before this very moist loaf is completely baked, so internal temperature is the most reliable doneness check. Tent loosely with foil if the top is browning too quickly.
  9. Let the loaf cool in the pan for 15 to 20 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely before slicing.

Notes

For the most consistent texture, lightly squeeze the shredded zucchini before measuring. In testing, a double batch used 545 g squeezed zucchini and 230 g finished browned butter. The loaf was fully baked at 204°F internal temperature.
The crumble topping is optional, but recommended if you want a little extra cozy coffee-cake texture on top.