Rich Moist Zucchini and Chocolate Cake

Posted by whilehewasout on April 2, 2012 · 3 Comments 

So chocolate AND zucchini. What?! My first thought was what on earth has zucchini anything to do around a decent chocolate cake. Well, believe me, it is there to convert something good into Divine! Recipe from the fantastic The Italian Dish blog.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Ingredients:

2 medium zucchini, grated (I just washed them and used with skin, seeds and all)
9 tablespoons of unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 and 3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa, sifted
1 and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cup sugar (I used only around 3/4 cup, it was sweet enough for us)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (I had to substitute it with 1 sachet of vanilla sugar)
1/2 cup buttermilk (*if you don’t have buttermilk on hand, which I frequently do not, simply add 1/2 tablespoon vinegar to 1/2 cup milk (whole or low fat) and let sit for 15 minutes)
1/4 cup confectioners’ sugar to decorate.

Preparation:

1. Grate the zucchini and squeeze out as much liquid as possible.
2. Butter a deep 9″ cake pan with 1 tablespoon of the butter (I used a silicone baking pan, no butter needed then). Sift flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt together into a mixing bowl and set aside.
3. 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.

4. Pour batter into prepared pan and bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 1 hour and 15 minutes at 160°C (Start checking after 1 hour – baking time could be faster.)  Remove from oven and set aside to cool for 15 minutes.  Invert onto a rack to cool completely. Dust with confectioners’ sugar.

+1. Surprise your loved ones by NOT telling them it has zucchini in it before they try the cake – it came as quite a shock to my mother to learn the secret ingredient 😉

 

LIKE THAT BUTTERFLY?

If you like the butterfly dusting ‘template’ I made, you can find it below – simply adjust the size to your liking, print, cut and place it on the cake before dusting with confectioners’ sugar.

 

Filed under Food, Recipes · Tagged with butterfly, buttermilk, chocolate zucchini cake, silicone baking pan, zucchini