Chocolate Spice Zucchini Cake
I have a favorite carrot cake recipe that I’ve made dozens of times. It’s simple and straight forward. No pineapple and no nuts. I’m not against either in a carrot cake but more often than not, I make my carrot cake for a dear friend who happens to prefer her cake sans pineapple. And, although I am a huge fan of nuts in carrot cake, she is allergic to nuts so I leave them out. It’s still a great little cake, with lots of spice and slathered with a thick coating of good ole cream cheese frosting. (At the last minute I decided to add a bit of color by sprinkling some chopped pistachios on top of the cake.)
Years ago, I clipped a recipe for a chocolate zucchini cake from a newspaper. By the time I got around to making it, I had misplaced the clipping. I assumed it would turn up eventually, but it never did. So, I finally just decided to come up with my own recipe for Chocolate Zucchini Cake by simply tweaking my carrot cake recipe. For the chocolate component, I added deep, dark cocoa powder. I subbed in grated zucchini for the carrot, and added cardamom along with the other spices.
I guess it’s possible that one day that old clipped zucchini cake recipe will turn up. but even if it does, I can’t imagine liking it any better than this one here. It’s moist, and chocolatey, and studded with little green specks of grated zucchini. As the saying goes, ‘if it ain’t broke, why fix it?’.
Chocolate Spice Zucchini Cake
Makes one 8-inch layer cake
Cake
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup cocoa powder, sifted
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/4 cups vegetable oil
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 large eggs
3 cups grated zucchini (from about 2 large or 3 medium zucchinis)
Cream Cheese Frosting
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup ( 1 stick) butter, at room temperature
1 pound confectioners sugar, sifted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
Crushed salted pistachios for decorating (optional)
For the Cake:
Heat oven to 325˚. Grease two 8-inch round cake pans, dust with flour, and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour through nutmeg. In another large bowl, whisk together the oil, sugar, and vanilla until well combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the grated zucchini. Add the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, and stir gently to combine. Divide the batter between the cake pans. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a cake tester come out with no crumbs attached. Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then remove from pans and cool completely before frosting.
For the Frosting:
In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the cream cheese and butter, and blend until well combined. Add the confectioners sugar, one cup at a time, until the frosting reaches spreading consistency. Mix in the vanilla extract and salt.
Assemble the Cake:
Place one cake layer on a serving platter, top side up, and spread with frosting. Add the second layer, top side down, and frost the top, followed by the sides. Decorate with pistachios, if using.
Recipe by: Mary Weinberg – Sifting Focus
It’s the prettiest chocolate carrot zucchini cake I’ve every seen!!
xoxo
Thanks Julie! We feast with our eyes, right?
Oh Mary! I am lingering over your lush spring photos and wondering why I didn’t try to find a sunny spot (in my foggy coastal yard) to plant zucchini this year. Such a scrumptious way to enjoy the summer bounty that will soon arrive.