Chocolate Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cupcakes

As I've said many times, I am not a fan of the summer squash. Early in the season I'll cook it in identifiable forms with pasta, in sautes, grilled, or in a quiche. I'll make zucchini cakes and occasionally chilled zucchini soup. By September though, my patience has waned and I look only for those recipes that hide the zucchini and involve sugar, butter, and baking. I think zucchini was the original motivation for the whole Deceptively Delicious/The Sneaky Chef/ hide healthy foods in other dishes movement. People had the need to use zucchini that just coming and coming and coming.

In my shameless avoidance of cleaning this week, I stumbled onto another food blog after my own heart (Real Mom Kitchen, click here to see all her posts labeled with zucchini) There was a whole host of zucchini recipes involving baking and not knowing that zucchini is in it at all. This recipe was one of them. I also hope to make the zucchini whoopie pie that she has on her blog, however based off the picture, I'll want to tweak it a little to make it into one of those great Pennsylvania Dutch (ie Amish) whoopie pies I grew up with. (Don't get me started on those flat things that stores are now calling whoopie pies that are the size of saucers).

The cupcakes were really good. Curtis thought they were the best chocolate cupcakes I've ever made. I wouldn't go that far, but I do like them and can totally ignore the zucchini. The chocolate cream cheese frosting is awesome. The kids like them pretty good too.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cupcakes
from Real Mom Kitchen blog

2 (1 oz) squares unsweetened chocolate, cut into chunks
3 eggs
1 3/4 c packed brown sugar
1 c vegetable oil
2 c flour
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
2 c zucchini, grated
1/2 c chocolate chips

Toss zucchini with 1/2 t salt and place in sieve over a bowl. Let set until it is added to cake batter, squeezing out excess liquid before adding it to the cake (see middle picture).

In a double boiler, bring water to a boil. Turn off heat, place chocolate in bowl, cover, and let set until chocolate is melted. Set aside. (See top picture for my method of using a double boiler, setting a small metal mixing bowl inside a pot of boiling water).

In a mixer, beat eggs with sugar until pale and thickened, 5 - 10 minutes depending on mixer speed and strength. Blend in oil and cooled chocolate into the beaten egg mixture. In a small bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add to egg mixture and combine until just blended. Stir in drained, grated zucchini and chocolate chips. Spoon batter into 24 paper-lined muffin cups, filling cups 2/3 (or slightly more) full. Bake in preheated 350 degrees oven for 20 minutes or until tester inserted into center comes out clean. Let cool on pans on rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pans and cool completely before icing.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting
1 (8-0z) pkg of cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 c butter, at room temperature
3 c sifted powdered sugar (you may need as much as 4 c depending on how thick you want your frosting)
1/2 c cocoa powder

Mix cream cheese and butter until smooth and creamy. Mix in powdered sugar, one cup at a time. Mix in cocoa powder and frost cupcakes.