Chocolate Zucchini Cake with a Soft Crumb

Set out unsalted butter softened but still cool to the touch, sugar, and light brown sugar before you start Chocolate Zucchini Cake with a Soft Crumb. The batch is written for 12 people.

Count on 30 minutes of prep, 45 minutes of cooking, about 1 hour from the first measurement to the plate.

Ingredients Method

What goes in the bowl

• ¾ cup unsalted butter softened but still cool to the touch
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 ½ oz dark chocolate 60-75%, melted
• 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
• ¼ cup cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ cup sour cream
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• 1 ½ cups grated zucchini
• cocoa powder for coating pan and dusting cake (optional)

How the cooking goes

Make cake batter

1. Heat the oven to 325°F (convection or standard) and prepare your pan. Spray it with cooking spray and then dust it with cocoa powder, tapping the cocoa powder around until every inch is covered.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients: flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. In a different bowl, whisk together sour cream and heavy cream. Keep it to one side.
3. In the large bowl of a electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together butter and sugars until slightly lightened.
4. Beat in the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go. Add the vanilla extract in with the last egg.
5. Put all the chocolate and beat well to incorporate.
6. Switch the mixer to low, and alternately add the flour mixture and sour cream mixture. Mix until it is barely combined before the next addition. Remove bowl from electric mixer and fold through the zucchini just until distributed.

Bake

1. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake in a preheated oven until a cake tester or cake tester comes out with a few clinging crumbs. Mine took 45 minutes.
2. Let the cake cool for 20 minutes in the pan. Then loosen the edges with a paring knife and turn it out onto a wire rack. Allow the cake to cool until it is no longer warm.
3. Once the cake is cooled, dust with cocoa powder or drizzle a glaze over the top. You recommend the chocolate fudge glaze or a chocolate sauce! After the glaze has set, slice and enjoy!

After it comes off the heat

Let the pan settle before you slice, so the crumb stays together. Cover leftovers once they are cool.

If you want another plate from Cakes, open Gingerbread Apple Cake with a Soft Crumb and Fig Olive Oil Cake with a Soft Crumb.