Zucchini Cake

If you live in the Hudson Valley, then you and I are survivors of the rainiest June in 113 years of weather record-keeping. It was so rainy and so gray for so long, I am certain I had Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D.), the kind of malaise reserved only for winter and its lack of daylight. I was sad (and probably still just a touch so). Summer is a heady time for us, full of local fruits and vegetables with much anticipated trips to markets and farmstands that laid dormant through winter’s frost.

This rain, and even when not raining just general cloudiness, has been bad news for local crops. Strawberry season seemed to last just two days, 75% of New York’s cherry crop was destroyed, and corn is late. One item which seemed to do okay was zucchini. I thought if I couldn’t enjoy local fruit, at least I could make zucchini cake.

It was supposed to be so simple: I would make a zucchini cake similar to the zucchini bread my mother made when I was young. Unfortunately, it’s like going shoe shopping knowing exactly what you want without ever having seen anything like it before: it can’t be found. I wanted a not-too-sweet cake that I could eat for breakfast, dust with powdered sugar for afternoon tea, or cover in cream cheese frosting for dessert. I wanted it to at least pretend it was good for me. I wanted it to have a crumb structure and tenderness that would render it addictive.

I employed my usual research tack: I scoured the internet and pored over my many baking books. And I never learn: having set my demands for this cake so very high, I came up empty-handed. I did, however, notice a pattern among recipes for zucchini cake: they all called for the same amount of sugar, eggs, oil and flour. I played around, reduced the sugar, used both all-purpose and whole wheat flour, and added wheat germ.

And this is the result:

Look at the crumb! The moisture! The texture!

Delicious at breakfast and yet perfect for dessert.

Is there no higher calling for a zucchini than to sacrifice for this cake?!

As I want you to enjoy this cake as much as Brian and I and our dear friend Mark did, I have a couple of tips. First, scrape the bowl often, and especially after adding each egg. Scrape! Scrape! Scrape! Second, when baking a cake, make sure it is set up first before opening the oven door to rotate the cake 180 degrees. This will ensure that the cake does not fall. Third, most ovens do not bake evenly front to back which is why you have to rotate the cake in the first place. Fourth, some ovens bake slower/faster than others so that explains the disparity in baking times. A good oven thermometer will tell you if your oven is baking at the desired temperature. Fifth, as always, if you do bake this cake, I welcome your feedback especially if you have tips for improving the recipe!

MOLLY’S ZUCCHINI CAKE

Yield: 1 13x9 pan

Sugar 1 ¾ cups
Vegetable Oil 1 cup
Eggs 4 each
Vanilla extract 2 teaspoons

All-Purpose Flour 1 cup
Whole Wheat Flour 1 cup
Cinnamon 1 teaspoon
Ginger ½ teaspoon
Nutmeg ¼ teaspoon
Baking powder 2 teaspoons
Baking soda 1 teaspoon
Kosher salt ½ teaspoon

Zucchini, grated 2 ¼ cups
Pecans, chopped (optional) 1 cup
Wheat germ 2 tablespoons

Oven: 350 F

Pan: 13 x 9, buttered and floured.

In an electric mixer with a paddle attachment, mix together oil and sugar until homogenous. Be sure to scrape down the bowl a few times to make sure it is mixed properly. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition and scraping down the bowl. Add the vanilla, mix, scrape.

Sift the flours, spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In three (3) additions add the flour to the batter. Mix until incorporated. Scrape down the bowl. Repeat.

Last, add the zucchini, nuts and wheat germ. Mix just until incorporated. Stop.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and place in the oven. Bake for 45 to 60 minutes, rotating two-thirds of the way through baking if your oven does not bake evenly front to back. Cake is done when a toothpick comes out clean.

Cool cake on a rack. May be stored at room temperature, covered, for up to five days.

Zucchini Muffins: On September 22, 2009, I also used this recipe to make zucchini muffins. Everything stays the same until you are ready to bake the batter. Then line a 12-cup muffin tin with baking cup papers. Fill each one half to two-thirds full of batter. Bake 22-27 minutes at 350 F, rotating the pan halfway through for even baking. Muffins are done when a toothpick comes out clean and/or they spring to the touch. Cool completely. You can serve them as muffins for breakfast or ice them with cream cheese frosting and serve them as dessert. Yield is 30 muffins/cupcakes.