Fudgy Chocolate Cake--with or without Zucchini

This is more than a bread loaf.  It's more like a pound cake--a very fudgy pound  cake. The zucchini makes it soft and moist like a pound cake..

The chocolate comes from very good imported cocoa and good chocolate chips. The cocoa is not ordinary cocoa. Ordinary cocoa is 8 to 10% cocoa butter. This is 22 to 24% cocoa butter--almost three times as much. And there's lots of it.

No wonder it's so fudgy.

If it's not zucchini season in your neighborhood or you don't have a garden to spare, try our Fudgy Baby Cakes. We took our cream cake formula and loaded it with little chocolate pieces that melt in the baking. It's almost fudgy as the zucchini bread.

This strawberry fudge cake is a fudgy baby cake with fudge frosting, cut into squares, and crowned with strawberry whipped cream. You can get a can of fudge frosting from the store or get our fudge frosting mix.

Incredibly, not everyone likes stuff fudgy. (I have a son that doesn't like chocolate.) For that one that doesn't like chocolate, make this very fine Cinnamon Chip Zucchini Bread or our five-star banana bread.

You may also be interested in:

How to freeze zucchini.

How to make cinnamon chip zucchini bread.

Learn more about using cinnamon chips.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup Ramstadt Breda Rich Dark Cocoa or equal
• 1/3 cup dry buttermilk powder
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips
• 2 cups grated zucchini, drained

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Prepare a standard 9 1/2-inch bundt
2. pan.
3. Mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cocoa, and powdered buttermilk together in a medium bowl.
4. With your stand-type mixer, mix the eggs, sugar, vanilla, and water. Mix in about half of the dry ingredients and then the vegetable oil. Add the remainder of the dry ingredients and mix.
5. Fold in the grated zucchini, pecans, and about half of the chocolate chips.
6. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate chips over the batter. Bake for 55 minutes or until done. Cool on a wire rack for ten minutes before removing the cake from the pan.