Tasty Tuesday – Zucchini Spice Cake

Holy zucchini.  (I was going for a “holy guacamole!” type of a saying there…..but I don’t know that zucchini works.  oh well.)

To begin this post, you need to know that I am a very naive gardener.  When I planted a couple of zucchini plants this spring in my little garden in the backyard, I had no idea I’d be dealing with so many of these lovely green squash come harvest time.

I was also unprepared for how large they can get.  I pulled one out of the garden that was close to two feet long.  What on earth do you do with that?

Anyway….as I’m sure you can imagine, we’ve been eating zucchini with our meals for weeks – in pasta sauce, sauteed with onions and balsamic vinaigrette for a quick and tasty side, bbq’d on skewers, used in place of noodles, baked, stuffed, and even breaded.

And I still have tons.

Seriously.

As much as I love zucchini, I was starting to get really sick of eating it….so I began searching the internet for baking recipes, to switch things up a bit.  I came across this very yummy sounding/looking cake – Cinnamon Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting – and was inspired to create my very own zucchini spice cake!!!

Dry Ingredients:

• 2 – up to 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup white sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

Wet Ingredients:

• 4 eggs
• 3 1/2 cups grated zucchini (remove middle seedy area before grating)
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Frosting Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1 pkg of cream cheese (bring to room temp.)
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3-4 cups icing sugar

Preheat oven to 350F.

Mix dry ingredients together, making sure there are no lumps.

Mix together wet ingredients in a separate bowl, and pour into dry ingredients.  Combine all by stirring gently with a fork until just mixed.

Grease cake pan (I think I used a 9×13 – but it really doesn’t matter what size, just adjust your cook times if using different pans) lightly, and scoop/pour cake batter into pan.

Put cake on middle rack in oven, and bake at 350F for 35-45 minutes.  (start checking the centre with a knife at around 30 minutes)  Put onto a rack to cool.

As the cake is cooling, make the frosting.  Combine all frosting ingredients in mixer or bowl, and beat together.  Spread onto cake when it is completely cool.  (don’t rush this – you’ll regret it!)

This cake was absolutely delicious.  As with all zucchini cakes, it’s very moist and dense – and you don’t even really notice the zucchini in it.  Plus, the flavours are a nice change from the more commonly made chocolate zucchini cake (which I will probably also make this week).  This cake would be great for fall.

Enjoy!

Tasty Tuesday – Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

A few weeks ago, I decided to make a strawberry rhubarb pie for my hubby’s birthday.  (he doesn’t really like cake…..um, what?!)

This year, I had tons of rhubarb still growing in my garden in July – so I went out and gathered a bunch and got to work.  I pulled from two different recipes for inspiration, and created my very own, super delicious pie filling.  (I totally cheated and used a premade pie crust…as I am still on the hunt for a pastry recipe that’s as good as my Grannie’s – feel free to use your own pie crust, or cheat like me)

Here’s my recipe:

• 2 (heaping) cups fresh rhubarb, chopped into 1″ pieces
• 2 (heaping) cups strawberries, chopped and stems/leaves removed
• 1 1/3 cups white sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 egg yolk with 1 tsp water (optional)

Preheat oven to 450F.

Mix flour and sugar, setting aside 1/3 cup.  Chop fruit, and put into large bowl. Sprinkle sugar mixture over fruit (except the 1/3 cup that you set aside). Mix well, and let stand 30 minutes.

Prepare pie crusts (make them from scratch if you do that sort of thing), and place one crust into the bottom of a glass pie pan.  Pour reserved sugar mixture over the crust.  This keeps the crust from getting soggy.

Top with your fruit filling (stir again before pouring), and pat with butter.  I actually forgot the butter when I made mine, and it was still really good.

Place upper crust on top (I like a good lattice top – but you can do anything you want!), and pinch edges together. If you like, create an egg wash by mixing the egg yolk and water, and brushing it over your top crust.  Sprinkle with a little sugar, for a pretty effect, and a little texture.

Bake for 15 minutes at 450F, then reduce heat to 350F and continue to bake for about 45 minutes.

Let cool on a rack for at least 30 minutes before serving (this helps the filling set up)