Orange Zucchini Bread

I recently got the book Tartine at Half Price Books and knew that I had to try the Zucchini Marmalade Tea Cake out for 2 reasons.

Zucchini is one of my most hated vegetables and since my zucchini plants currently are outdoing themselves in terms of production, I needed a way to get rid of large amounts of zucchini, FAST.
I really dislike marmalade and guess who also happens to have a jar of half used marmalade in the fridge?
My grandparents gave me 2 huge bags of chopped walnuts from their recent food bank haul. I hate walnuts.

In short, this was the fridge cleaner cake that combined all of my most hated things in hope that the oven will work its magic and transform them into something edible. It worked! Once baked into a loaf, the zucchini lost its musty flavor and mushy texture, the marmalade lost its bitterness, and the walnuts lost their tannic quality. The loaf just tasted like great spice cake with a slight orange aroma. While I still was not a fan of the orange, it was much more tolerable to have it in cake than spread onto toast.

I made a few variations to the recipe, namely substituting spelt flour in place of all purpose and adding a mix of spices. The spelt gave a nice hearty feel to the loaf as well as a nuttiness that covered up the unpleasant taste of the marmalade quite well. The crumb was amazing; moist , fluffy, and even, making the cake rich but not overly so. I will probably bake this again with apricot jam once I use up all my marmalade.

Ingredients

270 grams whole grain spelt flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cloves
2 large eggs
140 grams canola oil
150 grams granulated sugar
115 grams orange marmalade
285 grams grated zucchini – about 3 med. (I used 1/4 of a HUGE yellow one)
115 grams chopped walnuts

Procedure

In a mixer, whip the eggs, sugar and spices together until fluffy. Gradually drizzle in the oil. Add the marmalade and mix until combined. Add the grated zucchini and walnuts and mix until combined. In another bowl, sift the spelt flour, baking soda, and baking powder together. Sift them into the wet ingredients and carefully fold to combine, making sure that everything is evenly incorporated and little gluten as formed. Dump into a loaf pan that has been greased and lined in parchment paper and bake at 350 F for around 1 hour (until toothpick comes out clean). If the top starts getting too brown, cover it with foil and return to the oven to continue baking. Once done baking, wait around 45 mins for it to fully cool and enjoy!