Daisy and I decided that our cake needed a special name in case the mysterious hidden ingredient deterred her sister from eating it. Daisy loves vegetables and would rather eat a mixed salad, a pile of beetroot or a soup, than cake. She is a good eater. Meanwhile her sister, Charlotte, lives on air, apples and cans of tuna. The two sisters could not be more dissimilar.
Zucchini as a cake ingredient has never really appealed to me before. But given that I still have a plague of zucchini, and also a willing kitchen hand who was eager to do some baking, Moist Chocolate and Zucchini Cake finally got a guernsey. It will be hand written in my sepia coloured exercise book, its spattered pages dedicated solely to successful cakes. I was very pleased with the result. The cake had good flavour and texture without being overly sweet. The zucchini vanished completely, but the thing we all loved was the moist, moussy centre.
After trying one slice each, the cake was boxed and sent home with the girls, with instructions on the lid- ‘Guess the Secret Ingredient’. After five guesses, they gave up. Daisy has not yet revealed the answer. Sadly this post is about to blow her cover. I plan to make another one soon to try with cream and strawberries, and also to test it’s keeping quality. If you have an excess of zucchini this season, I urge you to try this simple recipe.
Moist Chocolate and Zucchini Cake
- 1/2 cup caster sugar
- 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup neutral oil, such as rice bran oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- pinch salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 cup plain flour/ AP flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 baking soda ( bi carb)
- 1 1/2 cups firmly packed grated zucchini
Method
- Preheat oven to 180c. Grease and line a loaf tin with baking paper.
- Place the sugar, oil, vanilla, eggs, salt and cinnamon in a mixing bowl. Whisk together until combined.
- Sift together the cocoa powder,flour, baking powder and baking soda. Using a rubber spatula, fold the dry mixture into the wet until just combined. Add the grated zucchini and stir through.
- Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 50-60 minutes or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
My Kitchen Hand Baking with children is such a pleasurable pastime. Most children enjoy cake making as they love watching the transformation of ingredients. Simultaneously they learn maths, weight and measurement in a hands on way. Daisy is intrigued with my approach to making perfectly fitted paper rounds for the base of cake tins, learning radius and circumference without fuss or boredom. Sometimes we repeat the measurements in Italian, given that she learns Italian at her primary school. More classes should be held in kitchens.
Daisy’s Moist Chocolate cake. The recipe comes from Goodfood and is attributed to Kristy Komadina.
ALMOST ITALIAN 