dark chocolate zucchini cake

A couple weeks ago, I had to run into town for a mid-afternoon appointment, so I dropped the kids off at The Property, along with a plate piled high with thick slices of chocolate zucchini cake. I wasn’t sure how many people were working on the house and wanted to be sure there was enough cake to go around.

There were only two pieces when I got back. Apparently, my kids ate most of it. Oh well.

At first, I wasn’t all that thrilled with the cake. It seemed too wet, and maybe a little too heavy. But by the second day, all extra wetness had disappeared and the cake was lovely—dense, dark, chocolate-y, and moist. But because my kids had already eaten most of it, there wasn’t much left for me to enjoy.

So yesterday, I made another chocolate zucchini cake. We ate some, shared some, and squirreled the rest away in the freezer for later.

Julie says this is her favorite chocolate cake. I wouldn’t go that far (this one holds that title), but there is something chic about an unadorned wedge of chocolate cake. Somehow it manages to be both homey and classy, functional and elegant.

Bonus: it’s super simple to make.

Dark Chocolate Zucchini Cake
Adapted from Julie of Dinner with Julie

The first time I made this, I used part whole wheat pastry flour. The second time, I used all white flour. I don’t think there was much difference between the two, so feel free to sub in a cup of whole wheat for a cup of the white.

Also, I like to use mini chocolate chips instead of regular sized ones—you get bits of chocolate in every bite and it doesn’t mess with the cake-y texture vibe as much.

½ cup butter
1/4 cup canola oil
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup mini chocolate chips
2 cups grated, unpeeled zucchini

Cream the fats and sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat well.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the sugar mixture alternately with the sour cream. Fold in the chocolate chips and zucchini. Pour the cake batter into a greased angel food cake (or bundt) pan.

Bake the cake at 325 degrees for an hour or until a cake tester comes out clean (though the chips will leave some chocolate smears) and the top of the cake is cracked and boingy to the touch. While the cake is still slightly warm, invert onto a cooling rack.

(Looking for a good zucchini bread recipe? Try this one. It’s quite lovely.)

This same time, years previous: swing set mutilation, beef empanadas, one whole year, reasons, lemon donut muffins, weird, honeyed apricot almond cake, brown bread, simple granola, fancy granola, French chocolate granola, oregano, garlic, and lemon roast chicken with asparagus and potatoes, and a sketchy character.