Zucchini Carrot Cake

Zucchini, it's for dessert today.

A friend gifted me a couple of large zucchini last week.  I grated them and froze them until I could make up my mind what to do with them.  When you have a large zucchini that got a little too big, always take out the seeds and  grate it.  There are many uses for it including this 40 year old recipe.  It was given to me by a co-worker and I fell in love with it back in the 70's.  I have modified it several times over the years.  The original recipe called for 1 ½ cups of oil and that made it too oily for me so I cut it in half.  My next modification was by accident.  I did not have enough sugar to make it once so I used ½ cup of brown sugar to make the full 1 ½ cups of sugar it needed and that made it even better.  The original recipe called for grated carrots and zucchini and I decided I wanted the carrots cooked, so I have been boiling the carrots and blending them in the blender with just a little of their water.  It makes for an even moister cake.  The end result is what I consider the best carrot zucchini cake I have ever made.  I frost it with a cream cheese frosting.

2 cups soft mashed cooked carrots (about 8 large carrots)

2 cups grated zucchini (can use frozen – about 2 large zucchini)

3/4 cup oil

4 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

Mix all of the above well and add:

2 cups flour

2 tsp. soda

1 tsp. Kosher salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. allspice

1 cup chopped nuts (I prefer pecans but you can use walnuts or skip them)

Cut up carrots in small pieces and just cover top of carrots with water.  Boil until tender.  Put in blender with the remaining carrot water and blend until smooth like baby food (you could use baby food jars of carrots if you like).  I'll confess that I walked away and forgot the carrots and water boiled away burning the bottom of some of carrots.  I've shared this tip before, but used it today and it saved the carrots.  Add a teaspoon of peanut butter to the blender with the carrots and about 1/2 cup of water and you'd never be able to tell that they were burnt.  Change as it seems, it is like magic. 

In separate bowl add your drained zucchini, oil, eggs, sugars and vanilla and mix.  You can use frozen zucchini but drain excess water off.

Add the dried ingredients and mix.  Do not over mix batter.  It may be just a little lumpy and that is fine.

Bake approximately for 35 to 40 minutes at 350 degrees.  Use a toothpick to make sure the middle is done. This is an extremely moist cake and is only made better by frosting it with cream cheese frosting made of butter, whipped cream cheese, vanilla, milk and powdered sugar.  It does not need the nuts, but mine has to have nuts. 

Frosting

8 oz. of whipped cream cheese

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 tbs. milk

2 tbs. butter

Bill Crosby used to do a bit about cake having everything one needed for a meal.  I think this one would meet that and then some.  For the meat group, there are the nuts and eggs; for the fruit and veggie group, there are carrots and zucchini; for the dairy, the frosting has the milk, butter and cream cheese; and for the grain, there is the flour.  You have all the major food groups represented.  It is a meal in itself.  See if you don’t think it is a great cake. 

Have a great Sunday, be happy and may God bless you and yours.