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Zucchini Cheese Muffin Slab

The Muffin’s Low-Maintenance Cousin. This savoury slab is essentially a big-batch zucchini muffin without the fuss. It’s the perfect lunchbox filler, it doesn’t crumble, it’s packed with hidden veg for the kids, and it’s deliciously cheesy. Consider it like a zucchini slice, but more like a muffin than a frittata. 

Don’t be alarmed by the thickness of the batter, it gets a lot of moisture from the zucchini as it bakes!

Ingredients

  • 2 zucchinis (300g)
  • 3/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
  • 2 cups (tightly packed) shredded cheese at room temperature , like cheddar, tasty, colby, I use pre-shredded

Dry Ingredients

  • 2 3/4 cups flour , plain/all purpose
  • 3 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda and bi-carbonate of soda 
  • 1/2 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt

Wet Ingredients:

  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed using a garlic crusher or finely grated using a microplane
  • 1 cup milk, preferably full fat, at room temp (microwave 20 sec)
  • 50g / 3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted, cooled
  • 3 tbsp neutral oil (canola, vegetable, peanut)
  • 2 large eggs (55g), at room temperature
  • 1 tsp white vinegar

Decorative topping:

  • 1 medium zucchini
  • 1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
  • Pinch black pepper
  • 2 pinches sea salt flakes (optional, for sprinkling at end)

Method

  1. Sweat zucchini – Grate 2 of the zucchinis using a box grater. Toss with the salt then set aside for 20 minutes. Grab handfuls and squeeze out excess liquid (no need to be super forceful here but make a bit of effort!). You should have 2 very tightly packed cups. Set aside.
  2. Decorative zucchini – Finely slice the 3rd zucchini however you want, to decorate the surface. I cut the zucchini in half then into long strips. Thin coins is also nice. Toss with the oil and pepper.
  3. Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan-forced). Lightly grease a 23 x 33cm / 9 x 13″ metal pan with butter. Line with paper with overhang (so you can lift it out later).
  4. Batter – Whisk the Dry ingredients in a large bowl using a handheld whisk. Make a well in the centre. Whisk the Wet ingredients in a separate bowl until combined. Pour the Wet into the Dry ingredients. Mix using a wooden spoon until the flour is mostly incorporated but there’s still flour visible.
  5. Add-ins – Add zucchini and cheese then mix through. Some flour lumps is fine. Minimise mixing else the crumb will be tough. The batter will be thick – the zucchini will sweat more in the oven.
  6. Bake – Scrape into the prepared pan and smooth the surface. Top with the zucchini slices. Bake for 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean.
  7. Cool – Sprinkle with sea salt flakes. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Use the excess paper to slide the slab onto a cooling rack then remove the paper. Cool for at least another 10 minutes.
  8. Cut into pieces (3 x 5 pieces, or 4 x 5). Nobody ever says no to a smear of butter either, especially if served warm!

Recipe by Recipe Tin Eats

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