Chocolate Zucchini Cake-A Late Summer Treat

Nothing says late summer like abundant zucchini. This easy chocolate cake is an easy way to use up zucchini from your garden or an overly optimistic purchase from the farmers market. This recipe is from my grandma. It is a reminder of simpler times when a quick cake was needed for guests or a simple cookie, bar, or piece of cake was expected after every lunch and dinner. Both sets of my grandparents lived on farms, and even on the busiest day there was always time for coffee and cake in the afternoon. When my grandmas had to bring lunch to their husbands and kids working out in the fields, they would bring out treats like this.

Also, growing up, I often stayed at my Aunt Glynis and Uncle Steve's house with my cousins for the week during the summer, and I remember one day we spent the whole day at their local pool. When we biked home, we found this chocolate zucchini cake on the counter. I hope you like it if you try it. It has a light chocolate flavor, rich from the spices and moist from the zucchini. It keeps well for a few days and it great for snacking. Cover the pan with a clean dish towel. Just like my grandma used to do.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp. Vanilla Bean Project Vanilla Bean Paste

2 Eggs

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 1/2 cup all purpose flour

4 Tablespoon cocoa

1 tsp. soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking powder

3/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp clove

2 cups grated unpeeled zucchini

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 9x13 cake pan, set aside. Cream together butter, oil, sugar, salt, eggs, Vanilla Bean Paste and buttermilk. Stir together the remaining dry ingredients. Add to liquid, mixing well. Bake 40-45 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.