This gluten-free chocolate zucchini bread has vanilla cheesecake ribbons layered between the chocolate batter. Separate bands of chocolate batter and vanilla cream cheese create a clear pattern when sliced. Zucchini belongs in the batter, where its moisture supports a soft crumb; it is not a topping or garnish.
Leave the zucchini moisture in
Weigh the coarsely grated zucchini and add it straight to the wet ingredients. Squeezing it would change the liquid balance of this particular batter. Grate before mixing and use the specified weight instead of judging by how tightly a measuring cup can be packed.
Use the full-size loaf pan
The complete batch needs a 9 × 5-inch pan. A smaller loaf tin can fill too high and bake unevenly or overflow. Line the pan so the finished loaf can be lifted out, and place it on a baking sheet if you want a catch tray underneath.
Read the tester carefully
This loaf contains both chocolate pieces and cream cheese, so a perfectly clean tester is not the only useful cue. Look specifically for wet cake batter. If you find it, keep baking. Shielding a darkening top with foil lets the middle finish without taking the crust too far.
Gluten-free ingredient checks
Weigh the flour and use a plain gluten-free blend rather than swapping in a single nut or coconut flour. Omit the listed xanthan only where the ingredient line says to do so. Check the labels on baking powder, chocolate, spices and other packaged ingredients, and use clean tools and surfaces to avoid cross-contact.
For label guidance, read the FDA explanation of gluten-free food labeling. Contains: Egg and milk; chocolate may contain soy.
Serving and storage
Refrigerate in a closed container for up to 4 days. Serve chilled or let individual slices lose their chill.
For another baking project, try our gluten-free pumpkin roll, or browse the DayTasty recipe collection.
Gluten-Free Cheesecake Swirl Chocolate Zucchini Bread
Ingredients
Method
- Heat a conventional oven to 350°F / 180°C. Line a 9 × 5-inch / 23 × 13 cm loaf pan; do not substitute a smaller pan for the full batch.
- Whisk the sugars, oil, two eggs and vanilla. Stir in the grated zucchini with its moisture. In another bowl combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, xanthan and salt, then fold into the wet mixture. Stir in the 90 g chocolate chips.
- Mix the cream cheese, 25 g sugar, remaining egg and vanilla gently until smooth. Avoid whipping air into the filling.
- Layer one-third of the chocolate batter in the pan, then half the cream cheese mixture. Repeat with another third of batter and the remaining filling. Cover with the last chocolate batter and scatter extra chips over the top.
- Bake 75–80 minutes. If the surface is browning too quickly, cover loosely with foil after about 40 minutes. A tester may carry melted chocolate or cheesecake, but it must not carry raw cake batter.
- Rest 15 minutes in the pan, then lift onto a rack. Let the loaf become firm enough to slice without compressing it.
Notes
Refrigerate in a closed container for up to 4 days. Serve chilled or let individual slices lose their chill.
Contains: Egg and milk; chocolate may contain soy.
Weigh flour. Check labels and prevent gluten cross-contact.