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Spice up zucchini squash in zingerbread cake

Recipe: Add blueberries for a seasonal touch

Sacramento Digs Gardening
BY Kathy Morrison PUBLISHED MAY 31, 2020

Zingerbread makes a fine dessert with blueberries in the cake and more berries alongside. (Photos: Kathy Morrison)

It's time to shake the dust off the zucchini recipe collection. A gardener's favorite squash is back in season.

We've had several good recipes on the blog already, including our two biggest hits: Chocolate zucchini bread and Zapped pickles.

But the plants are going to be producing for awhile, so we like to provide new options for The Squash That Keeps on Giving.

This recipe, adapted from " The Classic Zucchini Cookbook," brings together zucchini and gingerbread, which I usually associate with fall and winter. But add some blueberries to the mix, like I did, and it becomes a great picnic cake, a brunch offering or a vehicle to show off even more summer fruit. Whipped cream, ice cream, fruit sauce -- all good.

Two 8-inch zucchini will provide about 3 cups grated squash.

Zingerbread with blueberries

Serves 12

Ingredients:

3 cups grated zucchini (from two 8-inch squash)

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for pan

3 to 4 teaspoons ground ginger (it's quite spicy with 4)

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pan

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup molasses (light or dark)

2 eggs

1 cup hot brewed coffee

1 to 1-1/2 cups blueberries, washed, dried and tossed with 1/2 tablespoon flour

Powdered sugar, for garnish

To serve alongside, optional:

Whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, fresh berries or other fruit, applesauce, lemon sauce or any freshly made fruit sauce

Instructions:

Combine the grated zucchini and salt in a colander, stirring to mix. Set aside to drain for 30 minutes.

The grated zucchini drains for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, ginger, soda, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg. Set aside.

Put the butter and light brown sugar in large mixing bowl. Cream the butter and sugar, then add the eggs one at a time, beating well until combined. Add the molasses and mix well. Don't worry if the mixture appears curdled.

Using a clean dish towel, squeeze the excess moisture from the drained zucchini, and add the squash to the bowl, blending just to combine. Add the flour mixture alternately with the coffee, mixing just until combined.

Gently fold in the flour-coated blueberries. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until the top springs back when touched and a toothpick or thin knife inserted near the center comes out clean.

Cool the cake on a rack before cutting.

Sprinkle powdered sugar over cake. Cool the cake on a wire rack 10 minutes before cutting. Or let it cool completely and serve at room temperature.

Serve plain or with any of the suggested accompaniments.

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RECIPE

A recipe for preparing delicious meals from the bounty of the garden.

Keywords:

baking recipes gardening Sacramento berries cake backyard produce produce management zucchini farmer's markets

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Food in My Back Yard Series

April 1: Don't be fooled by these garden myths

March 25: Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth

March 18: Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space

March 11: Ways to win the fight against weeds

March 4: Potatoes from the garden

Feb. 25: Plant a fruit tree now -- for later

Feb. 18: How to squeeze more food into less space

Feb. 11: When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants

Feb. 4: Starting in seed starting

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Garden Checklist for week of March 30

Your garden doesn’t mind April showers. Get busy now to enjoy those future flowers.

* Get ready to swing into action in the vegetable garden. As nights warm up over 50 degrees, start setting out tomato, pepper and eggplant transplants.

* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, radishes and squash. (Soak beet seeds overnight in water for better germination,)

* Plant onion sets.

* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias.

* Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.

* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom.

* Transplant lettuce and cabbage seedlings.

* April is the last chance to plant citrus trees such as dwarf orange, lemon and kumquat. These trees also look good in landscaping and provide fresh fruit in winter.

* Smell orange blossoms? Feed citrus trees with a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants.

* Apply slow-release fertilizer to the lawn.

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