Chocolate Zucchini Cake Recipe
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Recipe Overview
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
Makes: 9 squares
Ingredients Needed
- 125g/4ozs grated zucchini (around 1 smallish zucchini)
- 100g/3.5ozs dark chocolate bits
- 185g/6ozs cake flour
- 45g/1.6ozs cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon bicarb
- 180g/6ozs caster or superfine sugar
- 150ml/5flozs buttermilk
- 1/2 cup/125ml/4flozs soda water
- 75g/2.6ozs brown sugar
- 75g/2.6ozs sour cream
- 60g/2ozs melted butter
- 1 egg
For Chocolate Frosting
- 60g/2ozs butter, softened
- 120g/4ozs sour cream
- 60g/2ozs dark chocolate, melted and slightly cooled
- 150g/5ozs icing or powdered sugar, sifted
- 15g/0.5ozs cocoa powder, sifted
- 20g/0.7ozs dark chocolate
- Pinch sea salt
Step-By-Step Instructions
Step 1 - Preheat oven to 160C/320F fan forced or 180C/350F conventional. Line the base and sides of a square 20x20cm/8x8inch tin (or a 20cm/8inch round tin). Grate the zucchini using a coarse grater on a couple of sheets of paper towel. In a bowl sift the cake flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and bicarb. Squeeze the zucchini in the paper towel over the sink to remove any excess water (sometimes zucchinis release a lot of water, sometimes not much). Add the grated zucchini and chocolate to the flour bowl and mix with a fork so that there are no clumps and the chocolate bits and zucchini are covered in flour.
Step 2 - In a large bowl whisk the sugar, buttermilk, soda water, brown sugar, sour cream, melted butter and egg until smooth. Add the zucchini flour mixture in two lots mixing until just combined. Scoop into the prepared tin and bake in the centre of the oven to 40 minutes or until a toothpick in the centre comes out clean. Cool in the tin for 20 minutes, then carefully lift the cool using the parchment and cool the cake on a rack.
Step 3 - Make the chocolate sour cream frosting. Place the butter in a mixer bowl fitted with a beater attachment. Beat for 1 minute until smooth. Add the sour cream and beat on medium speed for another minute until smooth. Then add the melted chocolate and beat for 30 seconds on medium. Scrape down and repeat for another 30 seconds. Add the sifted icing sugar and cocoa powder and beat on low speed until combined and smooth. Using an ice cream scoop, add to the top of the cooled cake and spread out and make swirls. Using a vegetable grater, grate some chocolate on top and sprinkle with sea salt.
Substitution notes and ingredients:
1 - Cake flour can be bought at the supermarket. You can also make it at home. To make 1 cup/150g/5.2ozs of cake flour replace 2 tablespoons of plain all purpose flour with cornflour/fine cornstarch and whisk well. I usually mix up a big batch of this and keep it in a container ready for baking cakes as it produces a softer cake texture.
2 - I never have buttermilk in the fridge so I make it by adding 1-2 tablespoons of lemon juice to regular whole milk to make up the specified quantity. It will turn a bit lumpy and curdled which is what we want!
3 - Go for full fat sour cream in this recipe, it gives a better mouth feel but low fat can be used in a pinch.
4 - You can actually omit the zucchini if you don't have any. It will just be a deliciously rich chocolate cake! I will say however that zucchini does give it extra moistness.
Personal Note
While I love chocolate and my chocolate baby Milo who watched me baking from outside the window while sitting in the sunshine, I recently met my niece Mimi from my sister Blythe. Mimi is just over a year old and I was so excited to meet her. All I had seen were a couple of pictures and a painting my father had painted of her riding a scooter so I wasn't sure how accurate it was. All I knew was that she is a Maltese Shihtzu.
After yum cha with my family and all of the relatives we went to their place. My parents live with my sister right next to Orchard Road in an apartment. And as soon as we got out of the elevator Mimi came running out of their apartment. "Miiiimiiiii!" I exclaimed.
There's actually no better feeling that when there's a lineup of people and a dog chooses you. Seriously. Mimi was adorable. She loved playing and attention and all eyes were on her. Blythe told me that they had specifically chosen Mimi because she looked the most like my beloved Mochi, who my mother was completely besotted with.
Blythe had a toy for Mimi which involved burying treats under carrots in a toy. She had to sniff out the treat and remove the carrot. She did it very well! And Blythe also gifted one of these to Teddy (who loves burrow toys) and a stick toy to Milo (who loves sticks and balls) and these were the perfect presents for each dog's personality!
So tell me Dear Reader, have you ever baked with zucchini or courgette before? Do you prefer your cakes frosted or unfrosted?