Zucchini Cake
I was going to make a friend another batch of her favorite brownies for her birthday but something caught my eye in the fridge. I had purchased those zukes for a lovely light stirred up pasta dish. But then I remembered how sneaky putting those vegetables into our desserts make it a less guilty pleasure. So off I set to find a yummy new dessert. AND this was such a moist and pleasant surprise. You can still see the green flecks in my chocolate cake, but most of the cakes I saw online you couldn’t see them. Maybe I didn’t grate the zucchini enough but it was a humdinger melt in your mouth cake.
Here’s all you do:
Chocolate Zucchini Cake
adapted from Saveur
serves 8-10
Ingredients:
- 2 medium zucchini, trimmed and grated (I grated mine on the medium holes of a box grater)
- 9 tablespoons of unsalted butter, at room temperature, divided
- 2-3/4 cup flour
- 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa, sifted
- 1-1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1-1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup buttermilk * (you can sub yogurt)
- 1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
Working in batches, put a small mound of the grated zucchini in center of a large square of double-layer cheesecloth (I used a thin tea towel). Gather corners together and squeeze out as much water as possible from the zucchini. Transfer zucchini to a bowl and set aside. (I had about 2 cups of this squeezed zucchini. Do not obsess about the amount, though. This is a very forgiving recipe when it comes to the amount of zucchini.)
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a deep 9″ cake pan with 1 tablespoon of the butter. Sift flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt together into a mixing bowl and set aside.
Beat together the remaining 8 tablespoons of butter and sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy, 3-4 minutes. Add oil, beating well. Beat in one egg at a time, add vanilla, reduce speed to low and beat in flour mixture and buttermilk in 3 alternative batches. Stir in reserved zucchini.
Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 55 minutes to 1 hour. Remove from oven and set aside to cool for 15 minutes. Invert onto a rack to cook completely. Dust with confectioners’ sugar.
I served mine with coffee ice cream but it was so moist that it needed NOTHING, not even confectioner’s sugar or icing. Great for kids who won’t eat their veggies.
Bon Appétit.
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