Chocolate and Zucchini Cake

I have always been curious about Chocolate and Zucchini Cake.  For carrot cake, the vegetable is drier.  So I think zucchini should be a very moist cake.  So when Bake Along theme was to use Zucchini, I quickly adjust my radar clearly when I go for my grocery shopping this week, looking out for this vegetable.

Given the good review for this recipe, I was confident enough to make a full recipe and then I find that this yield a really big cake for my small family.

Definitely good to "hide" your vegetable in a chocolate cake.

Finding: Hubby was surprised that those zucchini he helped to grate went into this cake.  Not a hint of vegetable in here.   If I ever bake this again, I will definitely halved this recipe.  

What you need:

170g butter, softened, plus more for greasing the pan
50g unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder, plus more for dusting the pan
120g pecan halves or walnut pieces
115g sour cream (not low- or non-fat) 
3 large eggs 
2 tsp pure vanilla extract 

340g unbleached all-purpose flour 
10g baking powder 
9g baking soda 
6g salt 
4g instant espresso powder (optional) 

100g castor sugar 
200g light brown sugar 
380g coarsely shredded zucchini, squeeze to remove excess water
180g semisweet mini chocolate chips

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grease a 12-cup Bundt pan and then dust with unsweetened cocoa powder.


Whisk together the sour cream, eggs, and vanilla in a large glass measuring cup. 

Whisk together the flour, ½ cup cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and espresso powder in a medium bowl.

Spread the nuts on a baking sheet and toast until fragrant, about 7 minutes. Set aside to cool and then coarsely shop.

Combine the butter and sugars in a large mixing bowl and cream with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice as necessary.

With the mixer on low speed, add ⅓ of the flour mixture and beat until incorporated.

Add ½ of the sour cream mixture. Repeat, alternating flour and sour cream mixtures and ending with the flour mixture, scraping down the sides of the bowl between additions.

Stir in the zucchini, chocolate chips, and nuts.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 55 to 60 minutes.

Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert it onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing and serving.

This post is linked to BakeAlong hosted by Zoe from Bake for Happy Kids, Joyce from Kitchen Flavourand Lena from Frozen Wings.

Cheers

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