My garden has pretty much turned out to be a flop this summer. I started planting seeds early, and then we had a very cold snap mid-April. I re-planted again in the beginning of May…and some of plants survived…but just a few ;). The kids and I found 5 ripe green beans, which we picked and had disappeared in seconds. The beets finally perked up, and I was able to retrieve a handful for us. This week, I found one lone jalapeno pepper growing and I’m looking forward to using that in salsa.
Much to my surprise, the zucchini has been flourishing. It has been a fun learning process for us to watch the zucchini grow very large and see the bright yellow-orange blossoms right before our eyes. Then follows the dark green zucchini itself.
I enjoy zucchini grilled, fried, or roasted as a side with dinner. I like its mild taste and flavor. The kids are not as excited about it…until, we discovered zucchini cake! The kids can’t even tell their is zucchini in it, and the coconut consistency masks any of the bits within the cake. The hubs loves coconut, so he now claims this as his new favorite dessert. I love trying new recipes, so I will be making this one again and again.
Here’s a few other coconut recipes to try:
Strawberry {Chex} Ice Cream Dessert
- For the cake:
- 2½ c. all purpose flour
- ¾ c. cocoa powder
- 1 t. baking soda
- ½ t. baking powder
- ½ t. salt
- 6 T unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ½ c. coconut oil (melted and cooled to room temperature) or canola oil
- 1½ c. granulated sugar
- 1 t. vanilla
- 2 large eggs
- ½ c. coconut Greek yogurt
- 3 c. shredded zucchini
- ½ c. sweetened flaked coconut
- ½ c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
- For the coconut frosting:
- ¾ c. unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3½ cups powdered sugar
- 1½ t. coconut extract
- ½ t. vanilla extract
- ½ c. coconut for sprinkling
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a 9" x 13" pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter, coconut oil, and sugar until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla extract, beat until smooth. Add the Greek yogurt and mix until combined.
- Slowly mix in the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Fold in the zucchini, coconut, and chocolate chips. Spread batter into prepared pan.
- Bake the cake for 40-45 minutes until the top springs back lightly when touched and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove cake from the oven and cool completely on a wire cooking rack.
- While the cake is cooling, make the coconut frosting. In the bowl of stand mixer, beat the butter until smooth. Gradually add the sugar and mix until creamy and smooth, about 3 minutes. Add in the coconut and vanilla extract and beat until smooth.
- Frost the cooled cake with coconut frosting. Sprinkle coconut over the top of the cake. Cut cake into pieces and serve.
