This past week I was in the mood for something chocolaty. I decided to use up some of the zucchini that was collecting on my kitchen counter and try a chocolate zucchini cake. I don’t have a favorite recipe for chocolate zucchini cake, and so I tried a new recipe that I found on the internet. There were literally hundreds of recipes that combined zucchini and chocolate. My favorite zucchini bread recipe was easily adapted to whole wheat flour, and so I figured whatever recipe I used would turn out well with whole wheat instead of all-purpose flour. I liked the flavor of the cake, but the texture was more like a quick bread recipe than a fluffy cake. My husband ate the majority of this cake. He loved the flavor and thought it was incredibly moist, but I think the middle section must have been a little too moist because he cut all around it.
ZUCCHINI CHOCOLATE CAKE
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk or sour milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup cocoa
2 1/2 cups hard white wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 cups zucchini, grated
3/4 cup chocolate chips
Cream butter then add oil and sugar; mix.
Add next 8 ingredients; mix well.
Fold in chocolate chips.
Put in greased and floured 9X13 pan.
Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour or until done.
ANTIOXIDANTS? REALLY?
Have you ever noticed that Hershey’s Cocoa claims to be a natural flavorful source of antioxidants? Antioxidants are compounds that help neutralize free radicals and protect your body against their destructive effects. According to Hershey’s website, cocoa has more oxygen radical absorbance capacity than cranberries, grapes, or prunes. Prunes or cocoa – now that is a no brainer! Antioxidants, vegetables, and whole grains, and I thought I was simply making a dessert.
