Every summer I pledge to stay on top of peak harvest season with daily walks through the garden. Inevitably, a cucumber or squash blends into the plants’ large leaves only to be found after it’s reached monstrous proportions. While I love photographing these supersize fruits, by the time they grown beyond their ideal picking size, they lose much of the flavor that is unique to them.
For those moments when you have a gigantic zucchini that you don’t want to waste, this Chocolate Zucchini Cake recipe will do you right. Every time I make this cake, I shake my head in disbelief and cut a second slice just to be sure I was right that it’s the best chocolate cake I’ve ever made.
The shredded zucchini offers the extra moisture needed to allow for an incredibly light crumb, and the use of buttermilk does double duty by providing tangy complexity to a sweet dessert and helping the cake maintain its structure in my high-altitude oven. I also use a blend of all-purpose and bread flour to prevent the cake from sagging in the center.
And while you don’t need to add the ganache frosting, it will extend the cake’s freshness by helping to seal in moisture, something that is in short supply during late July in Colorado.
Chocolate Zucchini Cake Makes One 9-inch by 13-inch Sheet Cake
Ingredients
Cake
8 tablespoons salted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup bread flour
3/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa
3 cups shredded zucchini
1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
Parchment paper for baking pan (optional)
Ganache Frosting
1 1/3 cups bittersweet chocolate chips
7 tablespoons half-and-half
Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly oil a 9″ x 13″ pan and add a piece of parchment paper to the bottom of the pan.
In the stand mixer bowl, cream the butter, oil, sugar, vanilla, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until smooth.
Beat in eggs, and then stir in buttermilk alternately with the all-purpose and bread flours.
Add cocoa, mixing until smooth.
Fold in the zucchini and 1/2 cup chocolate chips. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and smooth so cake batter is uniform.
Bake the cake for 40 to 45 minutes. You’ll know it’s done when you lightly touch the top and it springs back and overall seems set.
Remove from oven to cool completely. I usually keep informal sheet cakes in their baking pan, but if you want to transfer it to a large cake platter or cookie sheet, let it cool completely in pan and then invert onto its final resting place.
While the cake cools, prep the ganache frosting. Combine the chocolate chips and half-and-half in a small saucepan, and heat over low heat until the chocolate softens. Stir to melt the chocolate, and spread over the completely cooled cake.