Unfortunately, this year was very bad garden wise for me. Alas, not even 1 zucchini. So I went to a local farmer and asked for his biggest and ugliest one. He had none that were already picked but said he could probably find one in the field that matched my description. And he did! Boy was it ever big...and UGLY. 50 cents he charged me! what a steal!
INGREDIENTS:2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup cocoa
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3/4 cup butter
2 cups sugar
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 teaspoons of vanilla
1/2 cup milk
3 cups grated zucchini (skin on)
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 cup of chopped nuts (optional)
Orange glaze:
1 1/4 cup sifted powdered sugar
1/4 cup orange juice (squeezed from the orange you used for the zest)
1 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, salt & cinnamon together and set aside.
In a bowl, cream the butter & sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla & milk to the butter mix. Stir in the dry ingredients and mix until well blended. Fold in the zucchini, orange zest & nuts. Pour into a greased & floured bundt cake pan. Bake 50-60 minutes.
Allow the cake to cool on a rack for 15 minutes before turning out on to a plate.
Glaze; in a bowl mix together the sugar, orange juice & vanilla. While the cake is still warm, drizzle with the glaze. Garnish with flowers or mint if you wish.
