Double Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Hi,

Well it's zucchini season. I remember one summer I brought this cake over to a friend's house for dessert. I didn't mention to the kids that the cake was made with zucchini. After they had some and I mentioned the "special" ingredient, they were shocked. They renamed the cake "the green cake." When I saw their mom a few days later, she asked me for the "the green cake" recipe. The zucchinis make the cake very moist but don't add a vegetable taste at all. The cake is easier to make with an electric mixer, but with some elbow grease you can make it by hand.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

1/2 cup milk mixed with 1 teaspoon vinegar or lemon juice (set aside)

1/2 cup butter (1stick)
1/2 cup oil
1 3/4 cup sugar

Cream the above ingredients together in a large bowl.

2 eggs

Beat in the eggs.

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

The milk with vinegar should have "soured" by now. Add the milk and vanilla, stir.

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cloves
2 1/2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda

Mix the dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Add to the butter/egg mixture in 4 parts.

2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup chocolate chips

Carefully mix in the zucchini and chocolate chips. Pour into a 9 x 13 inch greased baking pan. Bake about 40 minutes, check with a skewer to see if the cake is done. (Using a bamboo or metal skewer poke all the way down in the center of the cake. If the skewer comes out clean, the cake is done. If there are still some pieces of cake stuck to the skewer, reset the timer for 5 minutes and repeat the process.) Cool the cake on a rack.

I think the cake doesn't need any frosting. If you like you can serve it with some vanilla ice cream. It makes enough to serve a dozen people or so, especially if you serve ice cream with it. Hope you'll surprise your friends with this veggie filled cake.

Hugs,
Mameekosan