I will say right now, I think this is the best chocolate cake I have made to date! ...and probably the healthiest too. Well I always aim for healthy but this one is really going for the grand title!

I made this cake for two reasons:

1- because I still had so much courgette to use up and soups and salads, stir frys and 'coodles' were starting to lose their appeal.

And...

2: because a colleague was leaving work to go back to study at uni and I wanted to make a little leaving gift...

So courgette chocolate cake was the only option… obviously!! Ok, we'll maybe normal people would have given her a nice card or something. ;-)

This cake worked out so much better than I thought since I thee in so much courgette, comparatively little sweetener and used ground oats as the 'flour'...so there was lots that could have potentially backfired!! BUT it was so good, I even made it again yesterday as I still had more courgette left and I didn't get much of the first cake after all! 

I made the second batch into brownies squares and I can tell you, true to brownie style, they taste even richer and fudgier the next day, therefore I would imagine they freeze well like brownies would also, so make a double or triple batch with all your leftover courgettes! In this whole batch of approximately 20 squares there was a heaped cup worth of courgette puree equivalent to 1 large standard courgette. The cake is super moist and moreish... The 20 squares really won't last you long at all.

I also added extra dark chocolate chips (made from this unrefined coconut sugar chocolate)  and so I can't vouch for how they would taste without, i'm wondering if the depth of the chocolately taste would be a little lacking. If you decide to leave them out and then later regret it, could also always add a chocolate drizzle on top to compensate.

Recipe: Crazy chocolate courgette cake 

Makes 1 8” round or square cake

ingredients:

• 2/3 cup packed dates
• approx ½ tsp pure stevia
• 1 heaped cup courgette puree (I approximated this by using 1 ½ cups smallsh chunks)
• ½ cup water
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup oil of choice (I use coconut oil)
• ¼ cup flax seed
• ¾ cup cocoa powder
• 1 cup oat flour (I ground up some regular oats)
• 1/3 cup dark chocolate chips (I used these)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 heaped tsp baking powder
• 1 heaped tsp baking soda

Method:

Blend the courgette with all the wet ingredients and the flax seed to form a smooth fairly runny paste. Allow to stand for a couple of minutes.

Mix the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl and then add the wet. Mix lightly but well to form a thick soft batter. Add a little extra water if necessary.

Spoon the batter into a lined/greased muffin pan or round cake tin (you could also make cupcakes?) and smooth the top as best you can.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180C for approx 30 minutes, after 10-15 minutes it is advisable to lightly cover the top of the pan with foil to prevent the top browning before the centre is cooked through.

Allow to cook before slicing. Store in the fridge for up to 1 week…these taste even better the next day!