so it was big. really big, that zucchini i got from my neighbour. more like a little monster that grew in her garden. since i cant say no to any vegetable or fruit, i just had to take it. and there i was with this huge zucchini - "i better come up with an idea real quick" i thought, because there was no way it would fit in my fridge (also because it was full with fruit and butter and eggs and cheese anyway). the lovely deb over at smitten kitchen posted a wonderful recipe recently about a zucchini bread that was on top of my list anyway. so it was zucchini cake - more like 6 of them, because that green moster wheigted about 1 kilo so there were a few cakes to bake. but it's so easy to make, you wont spend too much time in the kitchen. really a wonderful recipe to do - the smell of it was so strong that it travelled all the way from my kitchen to my balcony - i couldnt wait to slice it and serve it with a generous amout of ice-cream.
RECIPE
adapted from smitten kitchen
3 eggs
250ml olive or vegetable oil
160g sugar
about 280g grated zucchini
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
330g flour
4 teaspoons cinnamon
a generous pinch nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
100g chopped pistacios or pecan nuts
90g chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 180 c°.
line two 25cm loaf pans with parchment paper.
in a large bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk. mix in oil and sugar, then zucchini and vanilla.
combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder and salt, as well as pistacios & chocolate chips. stir this into the egg mixture. divide the batter into prepared pans.
bake loaves for 60 minutes or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.
fancy more recipes using veggies and herbs? - then check out zorras blog, she is hosting this weeks WHB.
Myriam, beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI'm yet to try zucchini cake, yours look great, chocolate and pistachios are great add ins.
patricia - its a lovely combination and even works for breakfast! (a sweet one, that is...) i couldnt get enough of it.
ReplyDeleteThe perfect way to use a zucchini!
ReplyDeletewhat a lovely little cake!! with so much zucchini present in the farmer's markets, this is a nice way to incorporate the vegetable into a baked good.
ReplyDeleteI haven't baked a zucchini bread yet this summer. Way too hot to turn on the oven! But yours looks wonderful. I love the photo!
ReplyDeleteI love the addition of the pistachio nuts.
ReplyDeleteThis comes on my to-bake-list, too! It sounds delicious. Unfortunately I have no zuchini in my garden this year, and such nice neighbours neither.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely package you made! I usually like walnuts in zucchini bread but pistachios are a welcome addition in my book.
ReplyDeleteOh, how sweet your bread looks, all tied up with a green satin ribbon! What a lovely presentation, and I love that you chose a green ribbon to hint at the zucchini within. :-)
ReplyDeleteI agree with Zorra; it will join my to-bake list, and I´ll try it. I never thought of such a combination: Thanks for sharing!! :))
ReplyDeleteOh my, it does sound so delicious. (Especially with the ice cream and chocolate!)
ReplyDeleteJust like Patricia, I have never had zucchini in cakes before....I know I know, after all I read about that I really must give it a try!
ReplyDeleteMyriam, this was sooooooooo good! I baked it yesterday and it was so delicious that it's almost gone...you know, a slice for breakfast, one with tea, one after dinner...thank you!
ReplyDeleteAnna