12 Days of Cooking Christmas: Zucchini and Chocolate Cake

If we’re being honest, having a two-star Michelin Chef teaching cooking classes at Hill Center is pretty cool. The fact that it’s Gérard Pangaud makes it even cooler. His classes are peppered with stories and tips that keep his students captivated – and coming back again and again. If you’ve been to one of Chef’s classes, you know he’s not big on recipes. They’re more like loose guidelines than anything. But, on the third day of Cooking Christmas, we offer up his recipe for zucchini and chocolate cake!

ZUCCHINI AND CHOCOLATE CAKE

In the last few years, the culinary trend in cake recipes was to replace fat with vegetables. One of the most used is the zucchini! This vegetable is in fact classified as a fruit and is a great substitute for butter. Grated it brings moisture and lightness to a chocolate cake. Maybe it is a way for kids to eat vegetables !!!

INGRÉDIENTS (6 PERSONNES)

7 ounces chocolate (64 or 70%)

3 eggs

1 zucchini (2 if small)

3,5 oz sugar

3,5 oz flour (if you are doing a gluten free dessert, replace flour with cornstarch)

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 pinch salt

PREPARATION

Preheat the oven to 360 degrees.

Line a rectangle mold with parchment paper.

Melt the chocolate either on a water bath or in a microwave.

Grate the zucchini and squeeze to extract the water.

Separate the egg yolks from the egg whites.

Whip the egg yolks with the sugar until it becomes white. Then add the flour and baking powder. Then add the chocolate and finally the grated zucchini.

Whip the egg whites with a pinch of salt to a peak. Then add delicately to the base.

Put into mold. Bake 25 to 35 minutes.