Recipe: Watch Smiles Grow Once My Chocolate Zucchini Cake Appears!

Zucchini and any member of the squash family are big favorites of mine.  After all, they are easy to grow if you are lucky to be free of various furry garden raiders and are good producers.  Then again, you can still get a good deal on these vegetables at your farmer's market at this time of year to do so much with like making this easy recipe of mine that will spoil you with double chocolate decadence!

My chocolate zucchini cake is moist and uses unsweetened cocoa and chocolate chips for that extra bit of chocolate indulgence spiked with some ground cinnamon to truly boost that chocolate flavor to its peak.  This cake is so tasty just as it is that frosting it would be a waste.

I prefer to make this cake like the recipe I gave you yesterday in two loaf pans.  Instead of being tempted by eating too much at once, you can put one in the freezer and prevent hating yourself later.  Like the zucchini-pineapple cake, you can also make this in a bundt or tube cake pan. 

Another thing I want to share with you concerns measuring your baking soda and baking powder.  When I first started baking,  I used to use any teaspoon or tablespoon that I grabbed out of my spoon drawer to measure, which is a bad idea.  Use your measuring spoons for level measurements since too much or too little of either can ruin what you're making.  Therefore, if your baked goods weren't trying out as you had expected and you are at a loss to figure the cause, the way you measure could be the reason.

I hope the next time you get some extra zucchini and need a sweet fix that you will make my recipe.  Take care and I think you will enjoy it!

My Easy Chocolate Zucchini Cake

3 cups of flour
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
1/3 cup of unsweetened cocoa
3 large eggs
2 cups of sugar
1 cup of canola oil
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
2 cups of zucchini, peeled and shredded
1 cup of chocolate chips

Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cocoa, salt,  and cinnamon together and set aside in a large mixing bowl. 

In another large mixing bowl, beat the eggs thoroughly.  Add the oil, sugar and vanilla.  Beat those ingredients together until creamy.

Stir in the zucchini. 

Add the rest of the dry ingredients.  Stir thoroughly in with the creamed mixture using your wooden spoon until moistened.

Next, add your chocolate chips.

Place into two greased loaf pans and bake in a 350-degree oven for about 50 minutes. 

Use a toothpick or a slender knife to see if anything sticks for testing if it is done.  Different ovens and pan sizes can vary the time it takes for your cake to bake so check.

Let your cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before attempting to remove it from the pan.  This little wait helps to keep your cake from falling apart.