When Life Gives You Zucchini…
Written by Karen on July 9th, 2009
…I say, make chocolate cake! Like many of you home gardeners can appreciate, the zucchini is starting to runneth over, so I have been very busy trying to find creative ways to use it in the kitchen. First there were the zucchini fritters, shredded and fried until crisp and succulent. Then came the zucchini bread, and now the most decadent (dare I call ‘healthy’) chocolate cake I have ever created.
Zucchini (and other summer squash) are part of the melon family composed of 95% water, keeping us hydrated in the hot months. Low calorie – good for weight control – and high in potassium and vitamin C, which keep our hearts healthy. The chocolate, of course, is an additional antioxidant…so let’s not dilly-dally any further and get baking!
Chocolate and Zucchini Cake – Makes one 9×13 dish (portion sizes are up to you;-)
This recipe is both a ’savvy substitution’ and ‘farmers market fresh.”
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
3/4 cup grapeseed oil (can use a mild olive oil)
2 cups spelt or whole wheat pastry flour
1/3 cup unsweetened carob powder (or cocoa)
1 tsp. sea salt
2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
2 TB grain coffee powder (or espresso)
1 cup maple syrup (or Sucanat)
3 large pastured eggs
1 TB vanilla extract
1 TB Kahlua
1/3 cup plain organic yogurt
3 cups roughly pureed zucchini (about 3 medium)
- Preheat oven to 350. Lightly oil and flour 9×13 baking dish.
- Combine chocolate and 1/4 cup of oil in double boiler (or bowl over steaming water.) Stir to melt chocolate. Meantime, sift next 6 dry ingredients into large bowl (sifting helps prevent lumps.)
- Using an electric mixer, blend remaining 1/2 cup oil and syrup . Add eggs one at a time and beat well. Blend in melted chocolate, vanilla, and Kahlua.
- On low speed, add flour mixture and yogurt just until combined. Fold in zucchini.
- Pour batter into baking dish and cook for about 45-50 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean from center. Let cool completely before frosting.
Chocolate Orange Frosting
This was another experiment – and for those who make frosting often, you know there are many options to play with. For the dry milk you could use regular or almond and omit the yogurt. The orange added a vibrancy to the whole ‘package.’
1/2 cup dry organic milk
1/2 tsp. orange extract
2 tsp. orange zest
1 TB vanilla
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
3 TB orange juice concentrate (fresh is best, but you might have to sweetened it up a bit)
1/3 cup plain organic yogurt
Cream all in mixer. Makes about 2 cups for a light layer on cake. Double amount if you like your cake with your frosting:)
9
PM
It’s me again, with another unpleasant question about ingredients. By the way this cake looks delicious.
OK, grape seed oil – this is pretty much omega-6, no? And pretty processed I think. What have you learned about it? Any good news here I might have missed?
10
PM
Linda,
Yes, you are right about grapeseed oil and Omega 6’s (an essential fatty acid which we must obtain from food) that has been used for centuries in Europe. While we all need to up our intake of Omega 3s, I think most of the readers here have a decent balance of the two. It is also super high in the antioxidant vitamin E and is said to help raise HDL and reduce LDL. Grapeseed oil is made from the seeds of grapes after the juice has been extracted for wine, and has a very mild flavor. The other benefit is that it has a super high smoke point which means it doesn’t break down or oxidize when cooking. If you don’t have access to it, I might try a mild olive oil in this cake, as it would be a nice complement to the zucchini.
P.S. I swear this is the best cake I’ve ever made:)
10
PM
made a 8×8 cake, 24 mini cupcakes and a small 3×3 cake and they were all delicious! made my own mocha icing which was yummy.
my husband, a tough critic, really liked it but knew it had to be healthy. I did NOT tell him the secret green ingredient.
I used whole wheat flour and TJ’s half syrup/half agave and followed the recipe exactly. yum!!
12
AM
Great site! Thanks for the link. Rich
13
AM
Karen:
Great name and great website! Rich Baron told me about it today. I love the fact that you can turn something like Zucchini into such a great sounding dessert! Can’t wait to try this recipe.
Karen Dierkes
13
PM
Teresa,
Wow – I love that you made it in all shapes and sizes! Kids and husbands be fooled:)
Rich,
Thanks for the kudos! Hope you’ll stop by again…
Karen,
Back at ya. Check out some of the other recipes where I use veggies in desserts – delish – and fun to stump a crowd:)
Karens last blog post..When Life Gives You Zucchini…
17
AM
By coffee powder do you mean instant? If not, please explain.
Can I fill mine with caramel and still get away with it being ‘healthy’? Any good recipes for caramel?
17
PM
Becky,
Yes, I mean instant for coffee powders – espresso or grain types have the best flavor.
How would you ‘fill it’ with caramel? I LOVE caramel but the caramel sauce I have from my mom is definitely not healthy. I’ll work on it, tho!
20
PM
Ahhh… the magic of creating a caramel-filled cupcake…
I saw someone use an apple corer and plunge it in the center (not all the way through) and then fill it with the caramel. So simple.
8
PM
Mom made this and I ate it last night — outrageously delicious!! There is nothing “healthy” tasting about it
Thanks!
10
PM
This cake is delicious!!!! I used whole wheat flour, TJ’s grapeseed oil and TJ’s maple/agave syrup. I even cut the syrup amount down to 3/4 cup because I used TJ’s bittersweet chocolate and added 1 cup TJ’s chocolate chips to the batter. I didn’t even frost it and the family went nuts about it! (I might frost it for a special event.) Thanks again for a great recipe!
10
PM
Yippee Colleen and Susanne! And thanks for all the details on how you adapted it. I agree, no frosting necessary!