Chocolate Zucchini Cake

So, I am not even much of a chocolate fan, but I absolutely love this recipe for chocolate zucchini cake.  Not too chocolaty, with a hint of cinnamon and vanilla and insanely moist.  Not to mention the crunchy brown sugar, chocolate chip topping. 
 
This recipe has been in my family for quite sometime. I'm not exactly sure where it came from, but it's a definitely a keeper.  I had never made it myself until last year.  We had planted our first garden and it was overflowing with zucchini, so we made this cake almost weekly.  We didn't plant this year, because we are moving soon, but some lovely neighbors were kind enough to share some zucchini with us,

Enjoy!

Heidi

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup oil
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups grated zucchini
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk *
4 Tbsp. cocoa
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder

Topping:
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup brown sugar

Instructions:
Cream together butter, oil, and sugar in a mixer.  Add eggs, zucchini and vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients together.  Add dry ingredients slowly to wet ingredients and mix well.

Grease a 13x18 cook sheet (make sure it has an edge).  This will make it more like brownies and feed more people. Pour batter in pan and sprinkle with the brown sugar and chocolate chips. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out almost clean. It will still be gooey because of the melted chocolate chips.

Tips:
* If you do not have buttermilk,  add 1/2 Tbsp. white vinegar to 1/2 cup milk and let sit for 10 minutes.
* It is good to peel the zucchini and take out the seeds before shredding if using a large zucchini.
* Use room temperature chocolate chips.  Sometimes I freeze them, and they did not melt as well.
* DO NOT OVERCOOK!