Zucchini Snack Cake

This easy Zucchini Snack Cake makes a great lunchbox treat or after-school snack.

If you are a gardener, you are probably always looking for a way to use up all that zucchini! This is an ideal solution. My family quickly tires of stir-fried zucchini, zucchini boats and zucchini salad - but they will eat Chocolate Chip Zucchini Snack Cake as fast and as often as I can make it!

• in the cupboard
  • whole wheat flour
  • baking powder
  • baking soda
  • cinnamon
  • salt
  • vegetable oil
  • honey
  • vanilla
  • chocolate chips

• in the fridge or freezer
  • eggs
  • plain unflavored yogurt

Buy these fresh ingredients

• zucchini

Get out your equipment

• Essential
  • a square baking pan
  • measuring cups and spoons
  • a large mixing bowl
  • a smaller bowl
  • a mixing spoon
  • a grater
  • toothpicks

• Nice to have but not necessary
  • a whisk (for beating the eggs) - if not, use a fork
  • a spatula
  • a food processor
  
  
  

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  The recipe

  1 1/2 cups/375 mL whole wheat flour

  1 1/2 tsp/7.5 mL baking powder

  1/2 tsp/2.5 mL baking soda

  1 tsp/5 mL cinnamon

  1/4 tsp/1 mL salt

  2 eggs

  1/3 cup/75 mL vegetable oil

  1/4 cup/60 mL honey

  1/4 cup/60 mL plain yogurt

  2 tsp/10 mL vanilla

  1 1/2 cups/375 mL shredded zucchini

  1/2 cup/125 mL chocolate chips (optional)

  Preheat oven to 350F/180C.

  Grease a square cake pan.

  In a large bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

  In a medium sized bowl, beat the eggs.
  Add the oil, honey, yogurt, vanilla and zucchini.

  Add the wet mixture to the large bowl.
  Stir only till mixed.
  Fold in the chocolate chips.

  Pour into the pan.

  Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (about 35 minutes).
  
  

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  Substitutions
  • Use another flour (kamut, spelt, white, etc.) in place of the whole wheat flour.

  • Use maple syrup instead of the honey.

  Ideas for making this recipe your own

  • Do you know, i can't think of any way to improve upon this recipe! It's simple and perfect the way it is. Maybe you'll have some creative ideas of your own. (If you do, please try them and let me know how they turn out!)

  Tips

  • A food processor makes grating zucchini fast and enjoyable. (My kids love to help - with my supervision, of course.) If you don't have a food processor, a hand grater works just fine.

  • If you don't have toothpicks on hand, use a piece of uncooked spaghetti to test the cake.

  • At the end of summer, when zucchini is plentiful and inexpensive, buy lots. Grate it and store it in 2 cup/500 mL batches. Label and freeze. The day before you want to make this cake, take out a container of frozen zucchini and let it thaw overnight. In the morning, pour off any excess liquid. (Don't squeeze out all of the liquid - you want the zucchini to be moist but not wet.) You'll be left with about 1 1/2 cups/375 mL of thawed zucchini: exactly what you need for this recipe.
  
  
  

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  If you enjoy this zucchini snack cake recipe, you may also like these other recipes:
  • Zucchini Bread
  • Carrot Muffins

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