Chocolate Zucchini Cake

When I first encountered Clotilde Dusoulier’s fabulous Chocolate and Zucchini website, I thought to myself, “How wonderful, the ingredients of my favorite cake!”

My grandmother taught me how to bake when I was very young, and later when I was in high school she sent us a recipe pulled from Sunset Magazine for Chocolate and Zucchini Cake. Being adventurous, and knowing how good zucchini bread tastes, I tried it and it quickly became my favorite—the standard against which all future chocolate cakes were measured.

Over the years, I’ve modified this cake recipe slightly from the original. I use more zucchini, and a mix of white and brown sugars. The main distinction of chocolate zucchini cake is its moistness. The zucchini absorbes the cocoa while delivering the full flavor of chocolate, but without the heaviness of some other chocolate cakes.

Recipe updated Sept 15, 2012*

Chocolate Zucchini Cake Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups regular all-purpose flour, unsifted
• 1/2 cup natural, unsweetened cocoa
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3/4 cup soft butter
• 1 cup white granulated sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 teaspoons grated orange peel
• 3 cups coarsely shredded zucchini (from about 1 pound of zucchini)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
• Glaze (directions follow)

Glaze:

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 3 Tbsp milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

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