One Monday a couple of years ago, my husband called home from work and said a coworker he works closely with was showing symptoms of covid. Keith went home and chose not to test, but later in the week his wife fell more seriously ill. She did test positive and has been in and out of the hospital. They have four school-age boys. While Keith got permission to work from home, caring for his wife and managing the house in such a situation can be overwhelming for some people. So my husband did what he normally does in situations like this: He offered to bring in dinner for this family.
Naturally, I would be the one preparing it.
Because Keith and his family live over half an hour away from us, there was no way I was preparing anything in the way of freshly cooked vegetables from the garden, and besides, knowing their diet, I suspected the kids wouldn’t eat them anyway. But, you know, I have a lot of zucchini to use. With canning and freeze-drying it, I’m barely keeping up. So I decided to incorporate some zucchini into their dessert, a chocolate zucchini cake that I’ve been craving for some time. I’ve just avoided making it because I’ve been trying to lose a few pounds, and if I have that cake around I’ll eat it all, all by myself. Quickly. It’s that good.
I hadn’t ever considered posting a recipe for chocolate zucchini cake because everyone has a recipe and knows about it, right? Well, apparently not. Keith and his boys had never heard of such a thing. Of course, with all the stress of their wife and mom being sick, good food hasn’t been a priority for several days, so instead of waiting for dessert after dinner the boys just devoured the cake right after school.
This cake is serious comfort food. Made with zucchini, it’s even a little bit healthy. Use whole wheat flour, and you won’t even have to feel guilty about eating it.
Chocolate Zucchini Cake
½ cup butter, softened
½ cup vegetable oil
1 ¾ cups sugar
2 large eggs
½ cup buttermilk, sour milk, or yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup cocoa
2 ½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups shredded zucchini
¾ cup chocolate chips
½ cup chopped walnuts, optional
Cream butter, oil, and sugar together. Add the next 8 ingredients and beat well. Fold in chocolate chips and nuts. Pour into a greased and floured 9x13 pan. Bake at 325°F for 1 hour or until cake tests done.
Family reviews: Basically, it’s to die for. Would be way better if Mom wouldn’t eat it all herself.
Links to related posts:
The Incredible, Edible Zucchini
4 september 2021
My mother-in-law used to make this and I still do. MIL served this for dessert one time and a relative ate it who said she hated squash of any kind. Well, she loved the chocolate cake and MIL told her what was in it. You should have seen the look on her face! Hilarious!
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