Chocolate Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake

With one large zucchini I had quite the baking day.

all of this from one zucchini---2 chocolate zucchini cakes,
 3 loaves of bread, a dozen muffins

The Chocolate Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake recipe comes from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking Cookbook, always a great source for baking recipes.

Cake

Ingredients:

2 1/2 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 c brown sugar
1/2 c sugar
1/2 c canola oil
1/2 c buttermilk
3 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 c shredded zucchini
1 c chocolate chips

Glaze

1/2 c cream
3/4 c chocolate chips
2 tsp corn syrup  (I make a similar glaze for another recipe without the corn syrup so I omitted this)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°, grease and dust tube pan with cocoa.
Whisk flour, cocoa, baking soda & powder, salt in medium bowl.
In mixing bowl blend sugar and oil together, then add eggs, buttermilk & vanilla mix well.
Add flour mixture alternately with zucchini till blended.  Stir in chocolate chips.
Pour batter into prepared tube pan.  Bake about 45-50 minutes.  Let cool about 15-20 minutes then remove from tube pan, slide knife around edges to ease the cake out of the pan.

When completely cooled mix glaze mixture in top of double boiler stir till smooth then drizzle over cooled cake.

options:  this would be great with walnuts stirred in batter, add a couple tsp of cinnamon, dried cherries

when making something chocolate I dust the pan
with cocoa instead of flour

you could use a bundt pan or a 9 x 13 pan

a special treat this day I had duck eggs from a friend who owns
a duck farm.......the give baked goods a richer flavor

I made it to this stage then froze it, when defrosted it gets
a chocolate glaze or you could dust it with confectioner sugar

Berry Bundt Cake

Berry Bundt Cake

1 c butter softened
2 c sugar
3 eggs
4 T lemon juice, divided!
zest of 1 lemon
2 1/2 c flour---divided!
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
8 oz Greek yogurt
1 1/2 c berries
1 c powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 375° and prepare pan

Cream together butter and sugar.  Add eggs one at a time beating between each. Add 2 tsp of lemon juice.

Add 2 1/4 c flour, baking soda, salt, lemon zest, and mix.  Add yogurt blend till mixed.

Toss the other 1/4 c flour with the berries.  Spread batter into pan and layer berries into batter.  or  you can fold berries into batter before spreading batter.  Try not to break up the berries or you batter will become the color of your berries.

Reduce oven heat to 325° put cake in center of oven and bake for 60min or till toothpick comes out clean.  Cool about 20-30min then mix powdered sugar with 2 T lemon juice and drizzle onto cake.

I used blueberries but any berry will work, strawberries would need to be sliced or quartered.

Cinnabon type Cinnamon Roll Cake

Cinnabon Cinnamon Roll Cake
I wanted a quick coffee cake to make for someone so after a quick search on Pinterest decided to try this one pinned from Six Sisters' Stuff blog.  They found through a friends cookbook.  Their blog is filled with recipes & projects, check it out for lots of ideas.  I had wanted to take the cake to someone but a little communication error left me home alone with a full cake so I sent it to my husbands office and it was such a hit they have asked for the recipe.  Well I hadn't taken any photos and really wanted to make a couple changes so I made it again.  The office had a surprise again to have with their morning coffee.  My changes from their recipe were just a few, I used bread flour which gave it a firmer texture, 3 eggs, and the streusel that gets swirled in I cut the butter in half.  These changes were made because the first cake was very soggy, I had to bake it longer and while cooked very gooey.   The glaze on top I cut in half which was plenty using a 13 x 9 pan.  I don't remember having Cinnabon while shopping but it always makes the mall smell amazing.
This goes together so quick and easy---try it.

Cinnabon Cinnamon Roll Cake
(with my variations)
Ingredients:

3 c bread flour  (you can use all purpose but I preferred the bread flour for this)
1/4 tsp salt
1 c sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 c milk
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
4 T melted butter

Streusel Ingredients:

1 stick softened butter
1 c brown sugar
1 T cinnamon
nuts (optional)

Glaze Ingredients:

1 c powdered sugar
2-3 T milk (to desired consistency)
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350° & greased 13 x 9 pan.

In a large mixing bowl mix first seven ingredients till combined well.  Slowly stir in 4 T melted butter until mixed.  Spread cake batter into prepared pan.  In small bowl with fork blend streusel ingredients, nuts are optional I spread them over the top of the cake so that half of the cake could be no nuts.  Drop spoonfuls of streusel onto cake and swirl around with knife.  Bake for 25-30 minutes or till toothpick comes out nearly clean.

In a small bowl while cake bakes whisk glaze mixture till blended, drizzle all over top of warm cake.  Great eaten hot from oven, or rewarmed.

dollop struesel

swirl

topped with nuts on half

glaze will run to edge and down sides

Chocolate Smithwick's Cake

St Patrick's Day Celebration

For us St Patrick's Day lasts more than a day.  My husbands hometown has a strong Irish history, Girardville, PA.  They celebrate with a parade the Saturday after March 17th so this year it was a whole week later.  Why would they wait so long?  Well one of the biggest draws are the bagpipers but this is the busiest month for them so to be able to have more bands available it helps having the  celebration later.  It also gives the bands one more performance on the calendar by being later.  It has become a type of reunion gathering for friends, families, past residents, and those that just love an Irish celebration.  So this cake (original recipe was with Guinness) was the perfect choice for a dessert on parade day.  There are multiple versions on the web, pinterest, many blogs, tv chef sites, the cake is very close to the old fashioned Coca Cola Cake recipe always a favorite & a very moist cake.  This cake would be good with just a dusting of powdered sugar also adding the icing makes it rich enough you need to serve thin slices.


Chocolate Smithwick's Cake

Smithwick's pronounced "smid icks"

preheat oven to 350° prepare bundt or tube pan

2 c Smithwick Beer  (Guinness or your favorite will work along with Pepsi or Coke)
1 c cocoa powder
4 oz unsalted butter
1 1/4 c sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
1 c plain Greek yogurt (or sour cream)
2 eggs
2 c all purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt

Directions:

In a sauce pan heat together beer, cocoa, & butter when butter is melted add sugar and stir till blended--remove from heat and allow to cool.

In a small bowl whisk together yogurt and eggs then mix together with cooled chocolate mixture.

In large bowl mix flour, soda, and salt.  Add wet to dry ingredients and whisk together until just blended it will be a little lumpy don't over mix.

Pour into prepared pan bake for 35-40 min turn half way through baking time.

Cool then turn onto plate.

Icing:

Ingredients:

2 oz chocolate
4 oz unsalted butter
1 tsp salt
1/4 c beer
2/3 c cocoa powder
2 1/2 c powdered sugar

Directions:

Melt chocolate & butter together over low heat then pour into food processor with rest of ingredients pulse till icing has a smooth texture pour over cake let drip over sides.  It is a bit thick so you may need to push it a bit to the edge.

Stir cocoa, beer and butter till butter is melted then add sugar.

Mix yogurt and eggs together then add to cooled chocolate mixture.

Gradually combine mixtures.

Mix melted chocolate mixture with beer blend well for icing.

Ice cooled cake with Smithwick's Icing.

let icing run down sides

Blueberry Coffee Cake

Nick & Mallory

We traveled down to DC to celebrate an early birthday with Mallory.  We enjoyed dinner at "Ripple" in Cleveland Heights, a visit with Nick, Mallory, their new puppy Darcy and a Blueberry Coffee Cake for birthday cake. This cake has a nice flavor and could be made with whatever berry is in season, a very moist, light cake.

Darcy

Blueberry (Birthday) Coffee Cake

Ingredients:

2 sticks butter, softened

2 c sugar

4 eggs (med-large)

juice & zest of one lemon

2 1/2 c flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

8 oz plain greek yogurt (I used one 6 oz pkg)

fresh blueberries (or berry of your choice)

1 c powdered sugar

2-3 T lemon juice

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°, grease & flour tube or bundt pan.  Mix flour, soda, salt & lemon zest.

In mixer bowl cream butter & sugar, add eggs one at a time then add lemon juice.  Add flour and yogurt mix till just blended (don't over mix).  Toss the berries with a little sugar or flour to keep their color from running into the cake then fold them into batter.

Pour batter into prepared pan, reduce oven temp to 325° and bake for about 1 hour check  for toothpick to come out clean.  Remove from oven and allow to cool about 20 min before removing from pan.  When cool mix 1 c powdered sugar with lemon juice to desired consistency drizzle over cake.

Oceana's Blueberry Coconut Cradle Cake

 Listening to Morning Living on the radio Chef Chan described how he made this cake it sounded so interesting I had to come home and try it.  I love that he got the idea from a 1953 Pillsbury Bake Off Cookbook.  It was a cradle cake with chocolate and pecans which led him to come up with this recipe.  I had never heard of doing this and not being a big icing fan liked the idea of the meringue when the cake is inverted becomes your outer coating.






Oceana's Blueberry Coconut Cradle Cake

Ingredients:

Cake:

2 c flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 stick butter (4oz)
1 c sugar
4 whole eggs
3/4 c buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla
2 c blueberries

Coconut Meringue:

1/2 c sugar
1/2 c powdered sugar
1 c coconut, shredded

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325°.  Toast coconut until golden brown & allow to cool.

Prepare tube pan by coating sides with butter or oil.

Mix flour, soda, salt set aside.

Separate eggs reserving the whites for the meringue.

In mixing bowl cream together butter and 1 c sugar, then add yolks slowly and mix well. Add dry ingredients, mix then add buttermilk and vanilla.  Carefully fold in blueberries.

Meringue:
Toss coconut with powdered sugar set aside.

In mixer beat egg whites with a pinch of salt till foamy increase speed when peaks begin to form add sugar and continue whipping until firm peaks form.  Gently fold coconut powdered sugar mixture into egg whites.  Spread inside tube pan on all sides, bottom, and around tube.

Place the blueberry batter inside Meringue lined pan, spread evenly.

Bake for 75-85 minutes or till cake is springy to touch.  Let cool for 15 min before removing and inverting onto plate.

--when cooled sprinkle with powdered sugar

Click on this video of Chef Jansen Chan of Oceana Restaurant to see him making the recipe:

my tip for keeping the recipe handy