Chocolate Zucchini Cake

By cmschnettler

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 c regular all-purpose flour, unsifted
• 1/2 c cocoa
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 c soft butter
• 2 c sugar
• 3 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 tsp grated orange peel
• 2 c coarsely shredded zucchini
• 1/2 c milk
• 1 c chopped walnuts or pecans

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

1 Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, soda, salt, and cinnamon; set aside.

2 With a mixer, beat together the butter and the sugar until they are smoothly blended. Add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture one at a time, beating well after each addition. With a spoon, stir in the vanilla, orange peel, and zucchini.

3 Alternately stir the dry ingredients and the milk into the zucchini mixture, including the nuts with the last addition.

4 Pour the batter into a greased and flour-dusted 10-inch tube pan or bundt pan. Bake in the oven for about 50 minutes (test at 45 minutes!) or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan 15 minutes; turn out on wire rack to cool thoroughly.