Chocolate Zucchini Bundt Cake

Note from Cheri: This recipe is an original of my sister Bambi Burnes. Anyone who has a summer garden usually also has an abundance of zucchini and this is a clever way of putting it to use. You might even get your kids to eat vegetables!

3 C shreddded zucchini 3/4 C cocoa 1 2/3 C flour 2 C sugar 1 tsp. cinnamon 1 tsp. baking powder 1 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. salt 3 eggs (or 3/4 C egg substitute) 1/2 C vegetable oil 1 tsp. vanilla

Makes 16 Servings Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9" bundt pan with cooking spray (or grease with shortening) and dust lightly with 2 tablespoos of the cocoa powder. Shred zucchini and set aside. In a large bowl, combine cocoa, flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder and soda and salt. In a small bowl, combine eggs, oil and vanilla. Add egg mixture to dry ingredients and beat vigorously by hand until well blended. MIXTURE WILL BE VERY STIFF! Stir in shredded zucchini until well blended, pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 50-55 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rach for 20 minutes. Remove from pan and cool completely. Options: If desired, sprinkle with confectioner's sugar or drizzle with melted chocolate or top with whipped cream or ice cream. In the photo above we drizzled the cake with melted milk chocolate then sprinkled it with tiny candy decorations found in the supermarket -- you could also use jimmies -- either chocolate or multi-colored.