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Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake

More than one Epicurious editor considers this cake flawless: buttery and firm, sweet but not too sugary, moist but still cakey. If you’re leery of the dense, oily texture of most zucchini bread, this zucchini cake will be a pleasant revelation. And if you’re buried in a bounty of late-summer zucchini, this is a great go-to recipe to help burn through it using a short list of pantry staple ingredients. (Oh, and don’t be afraid to eat it for breakfast!)

Recipe information

  • Yield

    Makes 8 to 10 servings

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs, at room temperature
2 cups coarsely grated zucchini
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and chopped
Special equipment: 12-cup Bundt or fleur-de-lis pan

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Preheat the oven to 350°F. Butter a 12-cup Bundt pan well and dust with some flour, knocking out excess.

    Step 2

    Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a bowl. Beat together the butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes, then beat in the vanilla.

    Step 3

    Reduce the mixer speed to medium and add the eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down side of bowl occasionally, then beat until very smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes more. Reduce the speed to low and add all but 1/2 cup of the flour mixture, mixing until just combined.

    Step 4

    Toss the zucchini, chocolate chips, and walnuts with the remaining 1/2 cup flour mixture and add to the batter, then mix the batter with a rubber spatula (batter will be thick).

    Step 5

    Spoon the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top. Bake in the middle of the oven, rotating the pan halfway through baking, until the side begins to pull away from the pan and a tester comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes total.

    Step 6

    Cool the cake in the pan on a rack 30 minutes, then run a thin knife around the outer and inner edges. Invert a rack over the pan, then invert the cake onto the rack. Cool completely.

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