Chocolate Zucchini Cake
Serves:Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups grated courgette/zucchini – 2 medium courgettes approximately
- 50g butter
- 3/4 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup apple puree – or unsweetened apple sauce
- 1 tsp instant coffee powder or granules
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 1 egg
- 1 1/4 cups plain flour
- 1/3 cup cocoa
- 1/4 cup of sour cream, buttermilk or yoghurt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt1/2 cup chocolate chips
Icing
- 60g good dark chocolate – we use Whittakers 62% cacao
- 1 1/2 tbsp butter
- 1/2 tbsp liquid glucose or golden syrup
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla essence
Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C. Grate the courgettes, place on a clean tea towel and wring out excess moisture. Grease and line the base of a 20cm loose bottom cake tin or if making as a slab cake grease and line a 20 X 30cm Swiss roll or slice pan so the paper overhangs on all sides
In a bowl, mixer or processor cream the sugar and butter then add the apple puree, instant coffee powder, vanilla essence and egg and mix lightly. Add the sour cream, buttermilk or yogurt and mix.
In a large bowl, sift the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and the salt. Add the grated courgette then fold the liquid into the dry ingredients. Stir in the chocolate chips, pour into the prepared tin and level the top. The mixture may seem dry at this point but Courgettes are around 90% moisture so it will become fudgy and moist as it cooks.
Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool in the tin before removing.
If making the cake as a slab you will need to double the quantity of glaze. To make the glaze heat the butter and glucose in a saucepan or microwave then remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate and vanilla, stirring until completely smooth. Cool slightly before pouring onto the cake. The icing will set quickly once spread.
Tips
This cake freezes well even when you've glazed it. If you have a glut of courgettes definitely double the mixture, make 2 cakes and freeze one.