Chocolate Zucchini Bundt Cake

My son's father-in-law posted this BruCrew recipe on Facebook. He is a great gardener and shares his fresh vegetables.  The recipe calls for three cups of shredded zucchini. That sounds healthy!  It also calls for three eggs. We now have chickens, so that is easy and healthy.  I decided to make this healthy recipe.

   

Chocolate Zucchini Bundt Cake

(OK!  It may not be the healthiest recipe, but it could be the nicest way to get zucchini in your belly!)

3/4 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk*
3 medium zucchini, enough for 3 cups shredded
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup mini chocolate chips

Glaze
1 1/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 Tablespoons mini chocolate chips

   

Preheat the oven to 350°.  Use a square of wax paper to spread the butter all over the inside of the bundt pan.  Don't forget to butter the flutes of the center carefully.  Place 2 Tablespoons of flour in the pan and swirl and pat until the whole thing is coated.  Dump out the loose flour.

   

Set the pan aside.

Beat the butter until light snd creamy.  Add the sugars and beat more until creamy again.  A stand mixer works great for this. I use a Kitchen Aid.

   

Add the eggs and vanilla to the mixer and mix well.

   

Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg together in a medium bowl.  I used a microplane to grate the nutmeg.

* I couldn't find the buttermilk at our new store.  I didn't have any lemons or I could have put  1 1/2 teaspoons of lemon juice in some milk and waited about 5 minutes to make a good buttermilk substitute.  So I mixed 1/4 cup sour cream and 1/4 cup half and half and called it buttermilk.

Add half the. buttermilk and half the flour mix to the butter mixture and mix until moistened.

   

Then add the last of the flour and the buttermilk and mix until everything is incorporated.

   

I used a Cuisinart food processor with a grating disc to grate the zucchini.  It didn't come out as fine as I wanted, so I dumped them on a cutting board and chopped them finer.

 

Stir in the zucchini and mini chocolate chips.

   

Carefully place the batter into the Bundt pan.  Spread it evenly.

   

Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a tester comes out clean.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 15 minutes.

   

Flip the cake out onto a cooling rack until completely cool.    Place waxed paper under the cooling rack.

   

Prepare the glaze. It's super easy.  Place the heavy cream and the chocolate chips in a heat proof container, reserving the mini chips.  I used a Pyrex 2 cup measuring cup.  Heat for 30 seconds in the microwave. Stir until the chips are melted and smooth.

   

Let the glaze cool for 5-10 minutes.  Carefully spoon or poor the glaze all over the top of the cake, allowing it to drizzle down inside the hole and outside of the cake.  Sprinkle the mini chips over the cake.

  

There will be puddles on the waxed paper under the cake.  You shouldn't use your finger to scoop up the chocolate and eat it.

Once set, store in an airtight container.

   

The zucchini adds a lot of moistness to this Bundt cake.



The chocolate adds the fun!!

   

For even more fun, serve with vanilla ice cream.