Chocolate Zucchini Cake

It's zucchini season, which aligns with back-to-school and harvest time. Currently, we are waiting for the sun to dry the crops and wondering if it will freeze tonight. I hope there are still lots of sunny days ahead. Chocolate zucchini cake is very moist and delicious. It is always a fall favorite with fresh zucchini in season. I remember the first time I tasted a chocolate zucchini cake, and what a surprise it was to find a cake with such a rich texture. The fat in the cake is from healthy olive oil, safflower oil, canola oil, or butter or lard. I have found using lard delivers a moist and dense cake, which I rather liked. It has beneficial nutrients. You could also use canola oil for all or part of the fat. Something new in the sugar department is coconut sugar. You buy it at health food stores. The main benefit of coconut sugar, as reported on the Dr. Oz show, is that coconut sugar, unlike white sugar, does not lead to fluctuating blood sugar levels. Coconut sugar is not white, but rather more like brown sugar with a wonderful caramel flavor. When you grate the zucchini, leave the peel on if you are using young zucchini. If the zucchini is older with a tougher skin, then peel the skin away before grating. If you pick the zucchini after a good rain, it will be very moist, so take the grated zucchini in your hands and squeeze out the water. You can ice it with chocolate icing, or a chocolate cream cheese icing. A regular cream cheese icing would be great as well. This is a well-loved recipe that gives great results, time after time.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 1/4 cups hot water

1/2 cup butter, or canola oil or lard

1/2 cup cocoa powder

2 1/4 cups unbleached flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 cups shredded zucchini

Butter a 9 x 13 cake pan. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, beat the eggs until creamy and frothy. Add in the sugar by the 1/2 cups, and beat until soft peaks. Stir in the flour, vanilla, cocoa powder, and baking powder. Pour in the hot water, vanilla, butter melted into it, and the oil (liquid) into the batter, a 1/2 cup at a time, beating it into the batter. Stir in the chopped zucchini. Pour into the buttered cake pan and bake for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.