Chocolate Zucchini Cake

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Chocolate Zucchini Cake is a delicious chocolate sheet cake with a thick layer of rich chocolate frosting. There are shreds of zucchini baked into the cake. You can’t taste it and you can’t see it, but it adds great moisture to this wonderful chocolate cake!

August 8th is National Zucchini Day! By this time of the year, hopefully you have a healthy harvest of zucchini growing in your garden, so it’s time to make zucchini. Start by baking this rather delicious chocolate zucchini cake, and then make all of the other delicious things you like to make with zucchini. It’s also great just sliced and sauteed with a little butter and garlic salt.

Share the zucchini love on social media today by using the hashtags #NationalZucchiniDay, #ZucchiniDay and #RecipesForHolidays. Be sure to follow my August Food Holidays page so you never miss a food holiday in the month of August.

“Vegetables are a must on a diet. I suggest carrot cake, zucchini bread and pumpkin pie.”

-Jim Davis

The History of Zucchini:

Zucchini has beginning roots in Mesoamerica (central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Although it was native to North and South America, it was introduced to the Old World after Columbus’ explorations in 1492.

The zucchini we know today was developed in Italy in the later half of the 1800’s. It was likely re-introduced to America by Italian immigrants in the 1920’s.

Ingredients needed for Chocolate Zucchini Cake:

• all purpose flour
• cocoa powder
• baking soda and salt
• zucchini
• white sugar
• canola or vegetable oil
• vanilla extract
• unsalted butter
• milk
• semisweet chocolate chips
• mini marshmallows

How to make Chocolate Zucchini Cake:

The complete, printable recipe is at the end of this post.

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9×13-inch pan with nonstick spray.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
3. In a larger bowl, whisk together the zucchini, sugar, oil and vanilla until well combined. Whisk in the dry ingredients. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool for at least 20 to 30 minutes.

For the frosting- melt the butter in a medium saucepan, then stir in the sugar and milk. Bring this mixture to a boil- let boil for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Add the chips and marshmallows and stir until melted and combined. Stir in the vanilla. Pour the frosting over the cake.

Spread the frosting to cover the cake evenly.

Slice, and serve. Enjoy!

Fun Facts about Zucchini:

• Zucchini is technically a fruit, but it’s treated as a vegetable for cooking. It’s also referred to as “summer squash.”
• It’s harvested at about 25 centimeters long because it starts losing its taste if left to grow larger.
• Zucchini has few calories, but it does contain folate, Vitamin A and potassium.
• Because it tends to be watery, zucchini is an excellent addition to breads and cakes.
• Zucchini can be cut with a spiralizer to create zoodles.
• Fried zucchini in America was invented in Pittsburgh.
• In France, zucchini is a main ingredient in ratatouille.
• Fried zucchini blossoms are a popular appetizer in Italy known as fiori di zucca.