ANOTHER CHOCOLATE AND ZUCCHINI CAKE

Last week I posted a recipe for the CHOCOLATE AND ZUCCHINI CAKE I made for our 4th of July picnic at Larry and Shelly's house. The cake was moist and chocolate-y, but I had a second recipe that I needed to try out before deciding which one would earn a permanent place in my recipe folder.

Dinner with friends the other night provided the perfect excuse to use more zucchini and make the second recipe. This recipe calls for chocolate chips to be spread on top, but I decided that I liked the brown sugar/chopped hazelnuts of the first recipe better. (40 g light brown sugar mixed with 1/2 Cup (70 g) hazelnuts, toasted and chopped).

Here's the recipe I made for dinner with Bill and Suzy:


Chocolate and Zucchini Cake 2

2 1/4 cups sifted all purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 cups grated unpeeled zucchini (about 2 1/2 medium)

Topping
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup chopped walnuts


Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter and flour 13 x 9 x 2” baking pan.

Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt into medium bowl.

Beat sugar, butter and oil in large bowl until well blended. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla extract.

Mix in dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk in 3 additions each. Mix in grated zucchini. Pour batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips and nuts over.

Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Cool cake completely in pan. Serves 12.

I think the second recipe (this one) is my favorite, but you can always make both and decide for yourself.