Zucchini Chocolate Cake

Serve this cake with a dusting of powdered sugar, fresh whipped cream and a hot cup of coffee. Heaven!

This cake is not, I repeat, IS NOT, just for the summer. Now that we can get zucchini in the grocery store, pretty much year round, bake this cake anytime you need a really delicious chocolate cake. It is quite possibly, my favorite, all-around chocolate cake.

INGREDIENTS:

• ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature

• 2 cups granulated sugar

• ½ cup canola or vegetable oil

• 2 large eggs, room temperature

• 1½ teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

• ¾ cup cocoa powder (dutch process, preferred)

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• ½ teaspoon baking soda

• ½ teaspoon salt

• ½ cup sour cream

• 2 ½ cups grated zucchini

• 1 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:

Prepare a Bundt pan, 13” X 9”metal pan, or 2 - 8” round metal pans, by spraying with Pam, or another non-stick spray. Dust with about a tablespoon of flour, coating the entire interior surface of the pan(s). Pre heat the oven to 325 degrees.

Beat together butter, sugar, oil until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition, until fully incorporated. Stir in vanilla. Set aside.

Sift together flour, cocoa, baking and salt. Set aside.

Stir with a rubber spatula, the sour cream into the shredded zucchini. Add 1/3 of the zucchini mixture to the egg mixture, folding gently. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture, folding until just combined. Repeat this process two more times, adding the chocolate chips on the last repetition. Pour into pan(s) and smooth the top. Bake in the preheated oven. Bundt pan bakes 50-55 minute, 13’ X 9” pan bakes 45-50 minutes, or the 2 - 8” rounds bake 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven, and allow to cool completely before removing from pan.

Enjoy, thoroughly!