Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

It's mid-September and I still have zucchinis coming from my garden.  It's actually getting a bit ridiculous how many zucchinis these 2 plants have produced.  We have tried a ton of zucchini recipes, but there are still 5 huge zucchinis sitting on my counter with more on the way.  

I saw this recipe for Zucchini Cakes (similar to Potato Cakes) that we're going to try.  I'll let you know if they're any good, but in the mean time my absolute favorite zucchini recipe is Chocolate Zucchini Cake.  I do love zucchini bread quite a bit, but this recipe is like combining zucchini bread with chocolate cake and adding chocolate chips on top- how can you not love that?!!
When you cut into the cake the chocolate chips melt all over the sides of the cake.  It's pure heavenly yumminess. Here's the recipe:

½ c. Butter, softened
½ c. Oil
1¾c. Sugar
2 eggs
1 ½ tsp. Vanilla
½ c. Buttermilk
2 1/2 c. Flour
4 Tbs. Cocoa
½ tsp. Baking Powder
1 tsp. Baking Soda
1 tsp. Cinnamon
¼ tsp. Cloves
2 c. Grated Zucchini
1 c. Chocolate Chips
1 c. Nuts (opt.)

Combine all ingredients (except nuts and chips) in order given. Pour batter into greased &
floured 9x13 pan. Sprinkle chips & nuts on top. Bake @ 325F for 45 minutes. Needs no frosting.
As you can see above, the chocolate chips bake right into the top of the cake. We're not nut 
people around here, but I have heard that walnuts or pecans taste particularly nice. For the life of 
me I can't remember the origin of this recipe, so if you feel slighted that it's yours, let me know so 
I can give you credit. In the meantime I'm going to say it's a family recipe.  I'm linking up to  
Tuesday at the Table.  :)


Just a funny side note: When I was making it this morning I almost put cumin in the batter
instead of cloves. They both start with C. That's close enough, right? Yikes. Good thing I noticed 
the smell before it went in the bowl. It would have ruined some perfectly lovely cake.


3 comments:

  1. oh my gosh - cumin would not have been good! This sounds great though - lucky you with all the zucchini! And I have made z. cakes & like them alot!

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  2. I'm chuckling because not once, but twice this summer I had dinner guests bring over chocolate zucchini cake for desert, both moms were trying to sneak it into their kids' bodies (one successfully, the other not LOL). Luckily my kids will eat zucchini any which way, and of course love it in a cake. I almost always add chocolate chips to zucchini bread when I make it too. Chocolate and zucchini are a nice pairing... strange, but true... Maybe the cumin would be good with zucchini in a savory dish?

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  3. Another use for zucchini that I love when it is homegrown - I cut it thin on a mandolin and use it like chips for a taco salad. When it is really thin, you get the wonderful crunch of a chip, but it doesn't taste like zucchini (though I like zucchini, so I wouldn't mind that). Just a tip from someone who once dated a guy who planted 4 zucchini plants...my goodness...it was crazy!

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