Chocolate Zucchini Cake

This cake is another way to downsize your zucchini blessings from your summer garden. I used to have another recipe for a chocolate zucchini cake, but I found this recipe in the St. Louis, Missouri newspaper a few years back when I was visiting my daughter. I tried it next time we had an abundance of zucchini and felt like throwing my old recipe out the window. I didn't do that because it had come from a friend and, in fact, I will add it at the end of this post so you can try it as well.

Note: You can make thiscake by hand beating, but a portable hand mixer makes it way easier!

Sift onto wax paper or into a bowl and set aside:
2+1/2 C. flour
1/4 C. Cocoa powder
1/2 t. Baking Powder
1 t. Cinnamon
1 t. Baking Soda

In a larger bowl, cream till smooth:
1/2 C. (1 cube) margarine, softened
1+1/2 C. white sugar
1/2 C. Oil (I used Crisco oil)

Add in and beat till smooth:
2 Eggs
1 t. Vanilla
1/2 C. Sour Milk (put 1 t. white vinegar in 1/2 cup measure; add milk and let stand a bit)

Add in the dry ingredients you sifted before and then fold in:
2 C. Grated zucchini

You can bake this cake in a 9" x 13" baking pan OR a bundt cake pan. Whichever you choose, the baking temperature is 325 degrees and time is 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean and the cake is barely pulled away from the pan along the edge.

If you choose a greased/sprayed 9" x 13" pan, pour in your batter and then sprinkle the top of the batter with 1/2 C. mini-chocolate chips. This is like a faux frosting and eliminates the need for frosting in most situations. If the reason you even EAT cake is the frosting, prepared cream cheese frosting can be added over the chips when the cake is cooled.

If you choose to use a sprayed and sugared bundt cake pan, do NOT do as I did and sprinkle the mini-chocolate chips on top after you pour the batter in the pan. (picture me slapping my forehead here) Put them in the bottom of the bundt pan after you spray and sugar it.

I had a major "duh moment" half way through baking when I realized the faux icing the mini-chips makes was going to be on the bottom of my cake when I put it on the serving plate. When your bundt cake comes out of the oven, cool and invert on a plate while slightly warm. If you didn't put the mini-chocolate chips in the bottom of the pan, and you want to dress it up, you can sprinkle the top with powdered sugar as I did OR drizzle with a bit of glaze. Using half of a can of prepared frosting carefully thinned a bit with some hot water or milk works well.

Here's a picture of my silly mistake. If I'd realized it in time, I could have just swirled the chips into the batter. In fact......there you have another option!


Here is my work-friend's recipe for Chocolate Zucchini Cake. Treat the order of mixing the same as in my recipe. It fills an angel food pan and is baked at 350 degrees for about 1 hour.
Note: Her recipe calls for nuts, but I never put them in.

2+1/2 C. flour
1/2 C. Cocoa
2+1/2 t. Baking Powder
1+1/2 t. Baking Soda
1 t. Salt
1 t. Cinnamon
3/4 C. Margarine, softened
1+1/2 C. Sugar
3 eggs, added one at a time
2 C. Shredded Zucchini
2 t. Grated Orange Peel
2 t. Vanilla
1/2 C. Milk, added alternately with dry ingredients
Drizzle cooled cake with glaze make of:
3/4 C. sifted powdered sugar
1 T. milk or water
1 t. vanilla OR 1/2 t. grated orange peel
1 C. chopped nuts, added last

Cakes! Nummmmmmmmmmm