http://www.care2.com/greenliving/dark-chocolate-zucchini-cake.html
Dark Chocolate Zucchini Cake
Inspired by The Classic Zucchini Cookbook, by Nancy C. Ralston, Marynor Jordan, and Andrea Chesman (Storey Books, 2002).
The secret ingredient that makes this cake so utterly moist and delicious is a secret no longer: yes, the ever-abundant zucchini makes this single-layer cake a real standout. Your friends and family will never know they’re getting a healthy serving of veggies with their dessert; they’ll be too busy experiencing chocolate ecstasy. So if you have an extra zucchini or two hanging around (don’t we all?), this is a wonderfully subversive use for it!
INGREDIENTS
3 ounces good-quality dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup canola oil
1 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose unbleached flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter, softened
3/4 cup organic sugar, or less, according to taste
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 cups grated zucchini or summer squash
1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a 9-inch cake pan and dust with some unsweetened cocoa powder.
2. Melt the chocolate along with the oil in a double boiler or in a saucepan over low heat, taking care not to scorch.
3. Sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium mixing bowl.
4. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition, then beat in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture and buttermilk, beating until combined, then fold in the chocolate and oil mixture, and the zucchini.
5. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan for about 10 minutes on a wire rack, then invert it on the rack, remove the pan, and cool completely.
5. May be served plain, iced with your favorite icing, dusted with organic confectioners’ sugar, or with fresh raspberries nestled around it.
Serves 8 to 10.
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add your comment »Oh, and another thing -- diabetes needn't run from sugar, if they're in control with their blood sugar. Sugar or honey can be used, if you balance it with either fats (the good kinds are recommended, of course!), and protein. Those will slow the absorption of the carbohydrates into the blood stream, and lower the "spike" that sugars give blood sugar.
Canola oil just tastes bad to me, but I can't find much else to replace it -- have you tried to find corn oil in something other than gallon jugs, lately? LOL
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Tabitha said, "Does anyone know what I can replace the buttermilk with since I'm vegan? This sounds like a great cake:) "
There's a nice little cookbook out, by a very vegan baker, Hannah, called "My Sweet Vegan".
I've visited Hannah's blog, and she has a lot of vegan healthy recipes, for cakes and cookie and cupcakes...and she has some good tips on substitutions for non-vegetarian ingredients. Her blog is on Wordpress.com, and it's titled Bittersweet, not to be confused with bittersweet on the same site. Just search there for My Sweet Vegan...
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Does anyone know what I can replace the buttermilk with since I'm vegan? This sounds like a great cake:)
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Think it'll work with Soy Flour for the gluten-free to also add some protein?
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I just recently made a really good cookie using zucchini and they turned out great. Dark chocolate and zucchini are a suprisingly perfect match. I also enjoy and use coconut oil. The difference is that coconut oil is good fats which the body needs. Also coconut oil has a very low melting point. So when ingested into the human body it stays as a liquid and does not clog arteries. I am going to try this recipe, it sounds great.
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As with any oil, or butter, coconut oil does have fat. However, it is healthier than butter and better than canola. Canola oil suppresses the immune system in the human body. I wholeheartedly second the motion to use a healthier sweetener instead of Splenda. Sucralose (splenda) is not even used in Europe, and even the cola companies will admit that splenda is a carcinagen. Can't wait to use the recipe!
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OOps! Meant "store-bought", not sore.
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You can add grated zucchini or other squashes to sore-bought cake mixes or brownie mixes, also. Makes them super moist and yummy...and a great subversive way to get more "green" stuff into picky kids and adults.
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Gini Grissom said "What a combo- the Zucchini overtaking the neighborhood and magnificant dark chocolate. As a diabetic I will try it using Splenda and Almond Flour, and maybe the Coconut Oil Cheryl recommends.....Carb slicing whenever possible"
I'd be interested in knowing is there's such a thing as Hazelnut flour... ;-) Now that would be *decadent*!
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i cant wait to try baking it cause my auntie used to bake a zucchini cake but without the chocolate and i loved it what more with choco on it, yummy!
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