Chocolate and Zucchini

This is the time of year in our area where the zucchini plants are producing so many squash that we desperately search for recipes to help us use up this prolific vegetable. I have a great recipe for chocolate zucchini bread, but I wanted brownies this time. I found a great sounding recipe at Spend with Pennies blog and it also had a dynamite recipe for easy chocolate frosting. Turned out the the brownie was more like a cake, but it's a moist, delicious cake and the frosting takes it up a notch!

As usual I substituted soy creamer and non-dairy margarine for the milk and butter in the frosting. The cake called for veggie oil, so I used a very light olive oil. It worked well.

The zucchini was grated on a fairly fine grater, so it melted right into the cake. It's really important that you use the zucchini just as it is after grating...don't squeeze out any of the juices. They are needed to make the cake batter moist. The cake comes out with a deep, dark chocolate flavor and you can't tell that there is zucchini in it at all.

I love the frosting recipe, but found that adding all the chips at once meant that it took a ton of stirring to get smooth. I eventually used my stick blender to finish the job. I think that adding half the chips and melting them some before adding the rest might work better. The mixture will still be pretty warm when you put it on the cake. It hardens a bit as it cools and is really, really good.

Brought this dessert to a potluck and it went over quite well. Still finding that I need more rest and naps than usual, but otherwise doing well. Slept three hours after getting home from the lunch potluck! Doesn't this frosting look great?

Easy Zucchini Cake/Brownies with 1 Minute Fudge Frosting

from spendwithpennies.com blog

Makes about 28

Cake/Brownie

1/2 cup vegetable oil (I used a very light olive oil)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 1/2 cups grated zucchini (don't peel or squeeze our juice..just wash and grate after removing ends) 1-2 zucchini depending on size

Combine the oil, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl.

In another bowl combine the flour, salt, cocoa powder, and baking soda. Add to the sugar mixture and stir well to combine. Mixture will look sort of dry. Stir in the wet zucchini and stir very well to combine. Mixture now looks like a batter.

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake in the preheated 350 degree F oven for 25-30 minutes. When done the cake/brownie will be springy to the touch and will have pulled slightly away from the sides. Cool completely on a wire rack in the pan, then frost.

1 Minute Fudge Frosting

1/3 cup milk (I used soy creamer)
1/3 cup butter (I used non-dairy margarine)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup chocolate chips

In a small saucepan combine the milk, butter and sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring well. Once boiling, boil for 30 seconds, stirring all the time to prevent scorching, then remove from heat and immediately stir in half of the chips, stirring until melted, then add the rest of the chips and keep stirring until smooth. Immediately frost the cake/brownies, using an offset spatula to smooth it over the top. Add swirls if you like before it cools. Once frosting is cool you can cut the dessert and remove from the pan, or serve in the pan.