Sunday 30 October 2016

ZUCCHINI AND DARK CHOCOLATE CAKE


     This Friday a good friend of mine invited me to her house among other classmates from University, to taste some Asian food cooked by her and another friend. The first thing we ate was a spicy soup with chicken and ramen noodles. It was sooo delicious. Next on the plate was a bit of curry chicken and some coconut rice, which was also very good (and the least spicy for me). Overall it was a beautiful night spent with friends and exchanging local recipes. We also had some guacamole from a Mexican friend, which is always so amazing and yummy.
     
     However today is another day. I woke up with a terrible headache this morning. It must be the lack of sleep, the large amount of cheese I ate last night and a few too many glasses of wine these past few days that may have caused this turture. Still I wanted to write this post, because it's been a long time since I've posted here and I have a great recipe to show you guys. Most of the time as you have understood I try to eat healthy. Some times, like yesterday, I want something sweet to indulge, probably with chocolate. Chocolate works always like a cure for me. When things get stressful a piece of dark chocolate always soothes a bit that kind of stress.




     But this is not your normal chocolate cake. It is a healthy one, or maybe a "healthier" version of the one you are used to eating. It still contains chocolate, but also...a vegetable. From the title you already know that it is made out of zucchini. Now, I don't know if this is one of those trends people involved in food always seem to come up with, but so far I like the idea of this. Sweets made with vegetables, which you normally wouldn't think of making. Like the carrot cake. Who doen't love this cake for its moisty, out of this world taste? So, I decided to give it a go with this zucchini chocolate cake recipe I found over at food52, although I changed it a little bit, because first I didn't have a few of the ingredients and second because I wanted to try something different. If you are new to this idea, don't push it away instantly. Give it a try! Also, for women who have children, this is a perfect way to hide some vegetables in your children's everyday eatings. They will love it!

Zucchini and dark chocolate cake

ingredients (for a loaf)

3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 1/2 cups grated zucchini
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/4 cup creme fraiche (heavy cream) or 1/2 cup buttermilk
1 cup dark chocolate melted
1/4 cup olive oil or canola oil
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

how do I make it?

1. Using your electric mixer or hand mixer, mix together the oil, sugar, creme fraiche, vanilla extract and egg until you get a nice pale yellow mixture. The sugar needs to be somewhat dissolved. Then pour in your melted chocolate and continue to mix lightly.
2. In a seperate bowl whisk together the two kinds of flours, baking powder and baking soda. Then transfet to your wet mixture and mix slowly to incorporate all the ingredients together. Put in also the grated zucchini and continue to mix. You will notice that it will start getting moisty. Add your walnuts.
3. Preheat your over at 170-180 C. Butter a loaf pan (or a cake one, that is your choice). Pour in the cake mixture and tap it on the surface a bit.
4. Bake for 50-60 minutes. Mine need the whole hour of baking, as the mixture was too moisty. But don't be afraid of it, it needs to be baked that long.
5. Let it cool a bit before serving.




No comments :

Post a Comment