Several weeks ago I mentioned to my co-worker, Ali, that we were planning a
baking with chocolate week on the blog. A few days later I received an e-mail from her with the subject line "Simply the best cake ever!"
That's a bold statement, no?
According to Alison, the cake below is "awesome". She described it as "rich and chocolatey with glorious cream cheese frosting." Her mother, Gale, found the recipe in the Joy of Gardening Cookbook, by Janet Ballantyne. I love that the recipe calls for zucchini which I happen to think
pairs wonderfully with chocolate.
The recipe is below, with a few special notations from Gale in red (including the recipe for the previously mentioned cream cheese frosting).
CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI CAKE
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
2 cups sugar
3 eggs, beaten
1 T. vanilla extract
2 Cups sifted all-purpose unbleached flour
1/3 cup cocoa
2 t. baking soda
2 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
1/3 cup buttermilk or sour cream
3 cups coarsely grated zucchini squash
1/2 cup chopped nuts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Melt the chocolate and oil in a small saucepan over very low heat.
Cream the butter until light; add the sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Beat well. Add the melted chocolate and mix well.
Sift together the dry ingredients and stir them into the batter with the buttermilk/sour cream. Mix the zucchini and nuts in the batter.
Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans. Divide batter between pans. Bake on middle shelf of oven for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cake completely before frosting with whipped cream or your favorite topping.
My favorite topping for this cake:
Cream Cheese Frosting
3/4 cup butter at room temperature
8 oz. cream cheese at room temperature
4 cups confectioners' sugar
Cream together the butter and cream cheese until the mixture is light and fluffy. Slowly add the confectioner's sugar until well-blended, using more sugar if necessary to get a spreading consistency.
(Even better after cake has been refrigerated or frozen!!!)
Thanks for sharing this recipe, Gale. Feel free to whip one up and send it to work with Alison the next time you're in town. Crazy Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting by ????¥
