Cake 28: Chocolate Zucchini Cake with Brownie Bonus

Do you love zucchini desserts? I can't get enough of them. The kids love them too because they can easily argue that nutritionally speaking, my zucchini brownies are better for you then pancakes and therefore we should have brownies for breakfast. Smart kids :-)

The reason I'm making this a bonus recipe is because you get two desserts for the price of one. The ingredients are so similar that I put my mixer on one side of the recipe book and a large bowl on the other and make them simultaneously. Then both 9x13 pans cook side by side at the same temperature for the same time.

Which is AWESOME!!!

Why would you need two desserts? Ummm... why not? Or the nicer answer, so there is more to share with your friends and neighbors.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake


This chocolate cake is nicely balanced with a touch of cinnamon. It adds wonderful complexity.

½ C softened margarine or butter
¼ C Oil
¼ apple sauce (I buy the snack-sized six packs of natural sugar-free applesauce for baking, each is ¼ cup)
1 ¾ C Sugar
2 ½ C Flour
1 tsp Baking powder
1 tsp Baking soda
2 C Grated zucchini
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
½ C Sour milk (I use non fat milk with ¼ tsp of vinegar, stirred well)
4 TBL Cocoa Powder
½ tsp Cinnamon
¼ C Chocolate chips (minis are best as they ensure every bite is chocolatey)

Cream together the margarine, oil and sugar.

Add eggs, vanilla, and sour milk.  Mix well.

Add dry ingredients after sifting them together. Beat well.

Add zucchini last and mix evenly.  Put in a 13 x 9 pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips.

Bake at 350' for 35 minutes or until done.

Then fight with your husband about whether or not the cake needs frosting (It absolutely does not!)

And in the other bowl...

Zucchini Brownies

Cooking Spray
2 C zucchini
1 C all-purpose flour
1 C fresh ground whole wheat flour ( if you don't grind your own, go to Great Harvest, they sell fresh ground wheat, or just use whole wheat or all purpose flour)
1 C sugar
1 tsp salt
1 ½ tsp baking soda
1 pinch baking powder
1/3 C cocoa powder
¼ C oil
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla
½ C chocolate chips (minis are best)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Spray 9x13 pan with cooking spray

Combine all ingredients
Spread in prepared pan
Bake 35 minutes or until brownies are set.

Yeah, you read that right. Dump it all in a bowl, stir and bake. Pretty cool, eh? But... and it's a big but... this recipe will freak you out. It freaks me out even though I know how weird it is. When you start to stir you'll have dry flour stuff clinging to grated zucchini. It looks like something you'd fry in a pan, not like brownie batter. Keep stirring. As the salt charms the water from the veggies the batter will moisten up. I promise. That's why you add so much salt you're sure it's a typo. It's not. 

This is how it looks after mixing, not so appetizing but batter-esque:

And look at how they turn out. Glorious!!!

Be sure to check out the other great desserts in my 52 Cakes Project  :-)

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Whipperberry