Clothilde's Chocolate and Zucchini Cake
- Ready In:
- 1hr 15mins
- Ingredients:
- 13
- Serves:
-
12
ingredients
- 1⁄2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature plus more for greasing (or 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus 1 teaspoon olive oil for greasing)
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1⁄2 cup unsweetened dutch cocoa
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1⁄2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1⁄2 teaspoon fine sea salt
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules (I use espresso powder)
- 3 large eggs
- 2 cups unpeeled grated zucchini, from about 1 1/2 medium zucchini (keep the remaining 1/2 zucchini for optional garnish)
- 1 cup bittersweet chocolate chips, good-quality
- confectioners' sugar, for garnishing
directions
- Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a 10-inch springform pan with butter or oil.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a food processor, process the sugar and butter until creamy (you can also do this by hand, armed with a sturdy spatula or in a stand mixer). Add the vanilla, coffee granules, and eggs, mixing well between each addition.
- Reserve a cup of the flour mixture and add the rest to the egg mixture. Mix until just combined; the batter will be thick.
- Add the zucchini and chocolate chips to the reserved flour mixture and toss to coat. Fold into the batter and blend with a wooden spoon-don’t over mix. Pour into the prepared cake pan and level the surface with a spatula.
- Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Transfer to a rack to cool for 10 minutes, run a knife around the pan to loosen the cake, and unclasp the sides of the pan.
- Let cool to room temperature before serving.
- Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar, glaze with melted chocolate, or decorate with a few slices of raw zucchini (you don’t have to eat them, though).
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RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
Chef Kate
Annapolis, 60
<p>I have always loved to cook. When I was little, I cooked with my Grandmother who had endless patience and extraordinary skill as a baker. And I cooked with my Mother, who had a set repertoire, but taught me many basics. Then I spent a summer with a French cousin who opened up a whole new world of cooking. And I grew up in New York City, which meant that I was surrounded by all varieties of wonderful food, from great bagels and white fish to all the wonders of Chinatown and Little Italy, from German to Spanish to Mexican to Puerto Rican to Cuban, not to mention Cuban-Chinese. And my parents loved good food, so I grew up eating things like roasted peppers, anchovies, cheeses, charcuterie, as well as burgers and the like. In my own cooking I try to use organics as much as possible; I never use canned soup or cake mix and, other than a cheese steak if I'm in Philly or pizza by the slice in New York, I don't eat fast food. So, while I think I eat and cook just about everything, I do have friends who think I'm picky--just because the only thing I've ever had from McDonald's is a diet Coke (and maybe a frie or two). I have collected literally hundreds of recipes, clipped from the Times or magazines, copied down from friends, cajoled out of restaurant chefs. Little by little, I am pulling out the ones I've made and loved and posting them here. Maybe someday, every drawer in my apartment won't crammed with recipes. (Of course, I'll always have those shelves crammed with cookbooks.) I'm still amazed and delighted by the friendliness and the incredible knowledge of the people here. 'Zaar has been a wonderful discovery for me.</p>