Jared and I celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary this past week. We didn’t have anything special planned; after being on the road and eating out for over a week, all we wanted to do was be home. I did however manage to keep our tradition of eating bundt cake going. Last year’s was a Peach Maple and this year I came home to quite a lot of large zucchini, so I went with chocolate and zucchini bundt cakes in mini form and topped them off with a decadent chocolate mousse and a few raspberries I froze before leaving.
zucchini
chocolate
The cake is simple and not very sweet, but the chocolate mousse topping is what really makes these into a decadent treat. It’s actually a very strange technique I’ve been wanting to try for awhile now, so when Green & Black’s sent me a few of their chocolate bars I couldn’t hold back any longer. When making this version of mousse it’s very important that you use a high quality chocolate with at least 70% cocoa solids. There is no cream or eggs in the recipe and actually, other than water, there is nothing else you need but the chocolate, so you can see why quality is really important. Harvests organic and fair trade cocoa beans that provide the perfect intense and pure chocolate flavor I was looking for in this mousse.
I used a giant zucchini when I made this. Two cups went into the cake batter and the rest was made into zucchini butter (a must make for anyone who has a lot of zucchini on their hands). I spread it on top of toast, sprinkle on a bit of basil and top it with fresh tomato slices; makes the perfect lunch. I also have already made 2 loafs of zucchini bread and plan on making brown butter zucchini corn bread again too. Not to mention I’ve already given or made plans to give a ton away soon. This is my first year growing squash in a raised bed, before I always had them in large pots, but now I’m coming to know the true meaning of having too much zucchini on your hands!
Chocolate Zucchini Bundt Cake
Chocolate Zucchini Bundt Cake with Chocolate Mousse
Mini Chocolate Zucchini Bundt Cakes with Chocolate Mousse / serves 6
Mousse adapted from Herve This via Cafe Fernando
You can add up to 2 tablespoons of sugar to the mousse recipe if you want your chocolate to be a little sweeter. Add it in when you’re melting the chocolate.
cake
2 1/2 cup light spelt flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup muscavado or brown sugar
1/2 cup melted coconut oil or neutral oil of choice
1/2 cup almond milk
3 tablespoons flax meal mixed with 9T. water (or 3 eggs if non vegan)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups shredded zucchini, drained
mousse
3.5 oz. bittersweet chocolate (70% cocoa solids), chopped
1/4 cup water
raspberries for serving, optional
Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a 6 serving mini bundt cake pan and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
In a smaller bowl, mix together the brown sugar, oil, almond milk, flax eggs, and vanilla. Stir in zucchini until well incorporated. Gently stir in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated.
Pour even amounts into each budnt form, it should come up to about 3/4 of the way, and smooth it all around.
Bake for about 16-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pan for about 10 minutes before inverting and cooling completely on a wire rack.
Just before serving, prepare the chocolate mousse.
Fill a small bowl with ice and cold water and set a large bowl on top, making sure the bottom of the larger bowl touches the ice.
Place the chocolate and water in a small saucepan and melt the chocolate over medium heat, stirring occasionally.
Pour the melted chocolate into the reserved mixing bowl and start whisking with a wire whisk until thick. Watch the texture as you whip and make sure not to over-whip as it will make the mousse grainy. If it does become grainy, transfer it back to the saucepan, reheat until half of it has melted, pour it back to the mixing bowl and whisk again briefly.
Divide evenly into the center of each cooled cake, top with raspberries (if using) and serve. Best eaten immediately after mousse is finished because the texture is perfect. However, we didn’t mind eating them cool from the fridge the next day, the mouse hardens up a little, but still maintains it’s airy and light consistency.