The fantastic chocolatey food blogging challenge, We Should Cocoa, hosted by Choclette over at Chocolate Log Blog and co-created by Chele from The Chocolate Teapot (who has sadly retired from blogging) is three years old this month! To celebrate this milestone, Choclette has tasked us to come up with and share our very own chocolate show stopper cakes.
This weekend also sees my father’s 57th birthday. My father lives several thousand miles away from me (or perhaps I live several thousand miles away from him seeing as how he still lives near to where I was born!) and so that makes it slightly difficult for me to make him a birthday cake that he can actually eat.
DD will be turning seven in a few months and I was wanting to come up with a show stopping cake design for her. After her little brother’s very successful Angry Birds birthday cake back in March she’s expecting something on a grand scale, but you know what, I don’t think my hips and thighs will forgive me if I make a cake that large ever again!
I’d also picked up a small jar of cocoa nibs at a local home wares shop on offer. I’d never seen cocoa nibs before but I was keen to try them, having read about them on other food blogs. I was sceptical at first, expecting them to have the texture of a nut shell, but more about that later!
So, I combined all these events into this one cake. Made with organic courgettes from our veg box and organic fair trade cocoa sent to my eldest son by Food Thoughts Cocoa for his cupcake entry in their Facebook competition recently, this chocolate courgette cake recipe is my father’s. It was published as Cocoa Zucchini Bread in an Our Favourite Recipes Cookbook as a local school fundraiser on the West Coast of Canada, but I’ve tweaked a few things (mostly by changing it to UK measures and coating it in butter cream!). His original recipe makes two large loaves, but I experimented with smaller cake tins (7″, 5″ and 3″) as a test run for DD’s cake. Each tier is a double layered cake sandwiched together with butter cream, but the top 3″ layer was far too small and fiddly so I just let the children eat it, un-iced.
Cake assembly and decoration was simple but would have been made easier if my house wasn’t so hot. It’s that time of year where the outdoor temperature fluctuates considerably. By the time the indoor heaters have warmed the house up it’s warmed up outside again so it ends up boiling indoors, like an old ladies’ house. If you switch the heaters down it’ll get cold outdoors and inside will be freezing come evening time.
So, my house was far too warm and my butter cream was melting at pace. The top layer of the cake kept sliding off the bottom so I ended up stabbing it together with a BBQ skewer to keep it in place and opening all the house windows to let some of the cooler air in. It worked! To decorate I opted for a simple rose swirl pattern on the cake sides with cocoa nibs sprinkled over the top accented with a few late season nasturtiums from my garden (I grew those flowers from seed, I did!).
Cocoa nibs – wow! I’m officially in love with them. They have the texture of a macadamia nut (the inside, not the shell!) and the flavour is superb! They imparted a wonderful crunch and flavour to the frosting. Apparently cocoa nibs have a high nutritional profile and that, combined with the fact this chocolate cake contains fruit, vegetables and nuts surely means it contributes to your five a day, no?
The cake was served as a centrepiece at a fortnightly craft group I attend (and was hosting that evening) much to the enjoyment of the members, and some leftovers were delivered to a friend who is on forced bed rest due to a recent ankle surgery. You can read all about it in her lovely blog post here.
Unfortunately I couldn’t deliver any cake to my father, but hopefully he’ll appreciate the photos and the fact I tweaked his recipe. He told me once that recipes are only guidelines anyway. 😉
- 475 grams grated courgette (unpeeled)
- 365 grams caster sugar
- 170 ml sunflower oil
- 4 eggs
- 500 grams plain flour
- 60 grams cocoa powder
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 125 grams dried apricots, finely chopped
- 85 grams raw almonds, finely chopped
- chocolate butter cream frosting, optional
- cocoa nibs, optional
Prep time: Cook time: Total time: Yield: Serves 18
Mum of three, daydream adventurer, OU Life Sciences graduate, occasional crafter, ex-pat Canadian & quite possibly Britain's most northerly food blogger.
Jane Barrett says
I love cakes mad with veg! Healthier for the kids and they turm out much more moist, its a win, win situation!
Maya Russell says
I’ve tried courgettes in brownies but the kids didn’t really like it – what a shame!
Your cake is amazing.
Rahela says
Sounds amazing
Kate says
Wow – it’s amazing what you can do with veg!
Heather Haigh says
Looks amazing. I remember (and I’m an old bat so don’t chortle too loudly) being astounded at the idea of carrots in a cake. Now I love trying different fruits and veg in baking.
Elizabeth says
Lol! It’s funny how times change and our tastes with it. I remember being revolted at the notion of trying a honeydew melon in my Home Economics class in high school. I’d never seen one before – now if there is anything new available I am the first to try it!
Heather Haigh says
So many things that are readily available in the shops now were a mystery to me when I was growing up. I remember my first curry – it came dried in a box and contained sultanas – by today’s standards it was totally naff but I thought it was fantastic at the time. And I actually believed the David Attenborough April Fool’s spoof that showed spaghetti growing on trees! – I was young then and the only spaghetti I had ever seen came in a can by Heinz – and if you were a bit posh you got the alphabet variety.
Tracy Nixon says
Part of one of our five a day! Yes!!!!!!!!!!!
KATE SARSFIELD says
Tried it with apple today & same quantities as apple mositure content much like courgette – def. moreish! Have frozen some & will let you know how this works out, Dad micro’d his & had it with custard
KATE SARSFIELD says
Sounds delish, will def. try this but the slugs got to my courgettes before I could so might try it with grated carrot instead or maybe apple ….
Elizabeth says
Oh no! pesky slugs! Carrot or apple sounds interesting – might have to try that too!
Kate @ Family Fever says
This is amazing! I imagine it would be really moist too with the courgettes.
Elizabeth says
Thanks Kate 🙂 It is an amazing cake – deliciously moist (and surely it contributes to one’s seven a day?) 🙂
Hester McQueen says
Perfect recipe for using up courgettes – I just hope I do it justice
Elizabeth says
Thanks Hester, I am sure you would! 🙂
Alice says
WOW Elizabeth!! This looks and sounds absolutely phenomenal. I keep meaning to pick up cocoa nibs too, they’re so great! xx
Frances144 says
It was fantastic.
Love from “friend on bed rest” x
Elizabeth S says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it and that I brought a little chocolatey happiness into your life, albeit briefly. 🙂 xx
Shaheen says
Gorgeous gorgeous gorgeous.
Elizabeth S says
Thank you 🙂
Choclette says
Oh you are a wonder Elizabeth. This really is an absolute showstopper and makes for a special birthday cake indeed. the rose design is just stunning. I’ve made many a courgette cake, but never with apricots. I must remember to try that in the next one I make – which probably won’t be until next year now as our courgette glut came to a sudden stop last week. Love it that you’ve used your dad’s recipe too. Thank you for joining in with WSC with such gusto 🙂
Elizabeth S says
Aw thank you Choclette, I am so glad you like it! I chose apricots because that’s all I had in my store cupboard besides sultanas (my father’s original recipe calls for ‘dried fruit of choice’). It’s always a pleasure to join in with We Should Cocoa 🙂
Johanna GGG says
beautiful cake – I guess you piped those roses – I actually looked at a youtube video on how to do that but I just didn’t trust my dodgy piping skills – glad you were able to share it around and will look forward to DD’s birthday cake
Elizabeth S says
I did pipe them, yes, and rather hurriedly and frustrated as the buttercream kept melting and the top layer of the cake kept sliding off the bottom! I’m surprised it looks as good as it does, to be honest, haha! 🙂
Jean says
Who ever would have thought the humble courgette could look so glamorous?
Anyone would be thrilled to have a birthday cake like this !!
Elizabeth S says
It’s a pretty great recipe to use up courgettes, I think. I just wish I could have shared a slice with my father!
supergoldenbakes says
Anothwe gorgeous cake! This one looks stunning enough for the Great British Bake Off! Love the cocoa nibs and the homegrown flower decoration.
Elizabeth S says
Aw thank you Lucy!
Rebecca says
Definitely a showstopper! It’s gorgeous. My birthday is next week, I wish someone would make me one of these!
Elizabeth S says
Happy Birthday when it comes! Why don’t you make one for yourself 🙂
belleau kitchen says
What a stunner. Really wanna see inside it!! Love a courgette cake. They always keep so well and get better after time. Lovely stuff x
Elizabeth S says
Thanks Dom 🙂 I wish I’d thought to take photos of the inside of the cake. I was too busy eating it! My friend Frances did though and there’s a link in my post to her blog post.
Laura Denman says
That cakes looks amazing and I totally agree – one of your five a day for sure =)
Elizabeth S says
Thanks, and I’m glad someone agrees with me! 😀
Subha Subramanian says
Perfectly Made……..really tempting…..
x❤x❤
http://indianveggiesbhojan.blogspot.in/
Elizabeth S says
Aw thank you! 🙂
Angela Darroch says
I sit here with my cup of coffee just wishing I had a slice of this cake. Gorgeous presentation!!
Elizabeth S says
Aw thanks! I’ve made this cake a few times and it’s such a lovely recipe. This was the first time I’ve made it in round tins though, but I really think it worked well.