Happy Tuesday morning everyone, it’s a beautiful sunny spring morning in my parts of the south! Whether it’s sunny or not where you are be sure to make it a great day. Simple gratitude can make all the difference, and if you are really feeling like it’s a blah day then mix the gratitude with some baking or cooking therapy, that always helps to make the day sunny no matter where you are:-) I have a great recipe to share with you that will be sure to make you happy and make your day “sweet”! This cake recipe was given to me years ago and it’s been one of our favorites. I have not made this cake in a couple years and I was digging through old recipes and saw it and just felt compelled to make it this past weekend. This is actually the only way my children will eat a vegetable, now, I’m not saying it’s doing them any favors coming in cake form, but to know that they are actually chewing and swallowing a vegetable just gives me a sense of accomplishment. They are a tween and a teen and let me just say to all those people out there who say “I just make them eat it” or “you have to serve it 20 times before they will eat it” or “make them eat a curtiousy bite” well, y’all are striving way to hard to hold the “mom of the year title” because to be blunt, I’ve been there and done that and it doesn’t work in our home! But to each their own, keep on keeping on with whatever you think may work. As you can see my husband and I live to eat so the fact that we have two extremely picky eaters (anyone seen the movie Parental Guidance when the little boys food touches, yup that used to be us! Thankfully we have at least outgrown the outbursts of the food touching!) baffles our minds daily! But they are precious and slowly coming around, on their own that is. I apparently didn’t earn the “mommy of the year” title. Shucks! So back on track this cake contains a vegetable, and of course sugar! Here it is!

Ingredients:

2.5 cups sifted flour (I used all purpose)

1/4 cup baking cocoa

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 stick of butter

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 cups of unpared grated zucchini

6 oz of semisweet chocolate chips

 

Directions:

In a large bowl sift flour, cocoa baking soda, baking powder and salt and set aside. In another large bowl cream together the butter, oil and sugar until light and fluffy by using an electric mixer on medium speed. Beat in eggs one at a time making sure to beat well after each. Blend in vanilla. Add dry ingredients alternating with buttermilk beating well after each addition. Stir in the zucchini. Pour the batter into a greased  13 x 9 x 2″ baking pan and sprinkle with the chocolate chips. Bake at 325 degrees for about 45 minutes or until done. Cut into squares, it makes 16 squares, unless you eat it at our house, teehehehe, then it makes about 10! This cake is so moist due the moisture in the zucchini, it has great chocolate flavor and it’s just really hard to have any control over not just eating the whole whole thing warm with ice cream on top which is what we did! Speaking of Ice Cream, I’m addicted to Publix Coconut Road Frozen Yogurt or as I call it “Samoa Frozen Yogurt. OH MY!!!!! The poor cashiers see me in there too often for this! If you live near a Publix and like Samoas, you have GOT to try this, look for the black containers with the white tops. I topped my cake with this and was happy as a lark! So go make this and let me know how you like it! Have a blessed beautiful day!