I was as surprised as you are that my kids requested this ZUCCHINI cake for their birthdays... but there it is. Just another reason why I love those kidlets of mine.
From now on whenever there is too much zucchini in the house I know that zucchini cake is in our future. I have used other recipes in the past. In fact, I used one from Penzey's for the longest time (there's a similar one to the one I used for Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins over there) but with my emphasis on eating more healthfully and baking with whole wheat flour, I checked my handy dandy King Arthur Flour's Whole Grain Baking book and lo and behold there was a recipe for something like this in there. It was labeled a cake instead of a bread but it always tasted more decadent - like a cake - anyway.
This did NOT dissapoint. EVERYONE GLADLY ATE THIS delicious dessert (grade: A!) and would have had seconds if allowed. Sometimes Mike and I didn't bother with getting out a plate (if the kids were upstairs goofing off when they were supposed to be brushing their teeth and getting ready for bed)... we just used a knife (we ARE civilized after all) and dug in, eating over the pan to catch any crumbs... though we picked those right up too and ate them. At least I did.
I didn't make the glaze, though I bet it would be even better WITH it because how can you go wrong with a chocolate ganache-like glaze, I ask you?!!!!
So try this and let me know what you think!
Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake
(from King Arthur Flour's Whole Grain Baking)
You could use a 10-cup bundt cake pan or a 9x13-inch cake pan (I used the latter because I don't own a bundt pan).
Cake
2 1/2 cups (10 ounces) traditional whole wheat flour
1/2 cup (1 1/2 ounces) unwsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (7 1/2 ounces) packed light or dark brown sugar
1/2 cup (3 1/2 ounces) ganulated sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick OR 4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened OR vegetable oil
1/2 cup (4 ounces) buttermilk
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon **
2 cups (about 1 pound) shredded or chopped zucchini (I shredded mine)
1 cup (6 ounces) chocolate chips
Glaze (optional)
1/2 cup (4 ounces) heavy cream
3/4 cup (4 1/2 ounces) chocolate chips
2 teaspoons corn syrup (I think you'd be fine to leave this out as I would the next time I make this and try the glaze, but that's just me!)
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease the pan of your choice.
- To make the cake: Whisk the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
- Stir together the sugars and butter (or oil if using instead) in a large mixing bowl until smooth. Add buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla. Mix well.
- Add half of the dry ingredients, stirring until evenly moistened. Stir in the zucchini, then the remaining flour mixture. Stir in the chocolate chips. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
- Bake until the top springs back when lightly touched, 45 to 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool on a rack for 15 minutes. If you've used the 9x13 pan, you can either serve it right from the pan or invert the cake onto a serving platter and drizzle with chocolate glaze (we didn't try inverting it, opting instead to serve (or eat) right from the pan. If using a tube pan, lightly loosen the cake around the edges and center tube by pulling it gently away from the pan with your fingers or running a thin, flexible spatula down the sides, then put the rack on top of the pan and flip everything over. Remove the pan and cool the cake completely.
- To make the glaze: Heat the heavy cream to a simmer, and pour over the chocolate chips in a bowl. Stir in the corn syrup, and keep stirring until there are no more lumps and the mixture is smooth. Drizzle over the cooled cake.
Variation: instead of the glaze you can sprinkle confectioner's sugar over the cooled cake.
Servings: 16.
** The cinnamon was my addition and I, of course, thought it a good one (and one that I would repeat in the future).
