Chocolate Zucchini Cake with Bourbon Glaze

“What’s going on?” you are saying, “This is a soupsite and if I want cakes, I have other places to go.” 

You are right, but here is the problem. We may not live in the pot luck capital of the country, but there are at least half a dozen occasions a year when local organizations, town groups, friends, or holiday gatherings require that I supply what used to be called “a covered dish.” This was a quaint way of saying that each person is expected to supply a prepared dish to serve a group of people.

Soup just doesn’t work. First, it requires the host to supply a specialized set of tools: bowls and soupspoons. Second, it doesn’t fit into the three-part movement of a pot luck gathering: pre-meal snacks, main dishes, desserts.

So I have had to rely on a (seasonal) list of offerings, and this being the end of summer, here is one for the Labor Day Weekend. It is a cake made with one of those large zucchinis people are trying to unload from their late summer gardens.

It should be made a day ahead, not only for convenience, but because the Bourbon Glaze is actually like a marinade. It soaks into holes and is absorbed by the cake. The cake can be baked in several different kinds of pans, but first choice in terms of presentation would be a Bundt pan. One long loaf or two regular ones would also work, especially if you want to freeze one.

I had said that new recipes would appear on Sundays, but a family emergency having intervened last week, this is going up now.

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. cinnamon

½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

2 cups sugar

¾ cups vegetable oil

1 cup plain yogurt

4 large eggs

2 cups shredded zucchini

1Tbsp grated orange zest

Glaze

½ cup orange juice

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup bourbon

Directions

1. preheat oven to 350
2. in a bowl, whisk together first five dry ingredients
3. With electric mixer, blend next four moist ingredients
4. Beat in eggs one at a time
5. Add dry ingredient mix and beat until combined
6. Stir in zucchini and zest and pour into greased pan
7. Bake 40-45 minutes or until tester comes out clean
8. Cool 5 minutes. Pierce cake and pour glaze over it. Chill overnight.