Zucchini-almond cake

I enjoyed those zucchini bread cookies so much, I decided to try another zucchini recipe.  This time, a cake.  A very moist, gluten-free (though that's not a requisite for me...in fact, I enjoy gluten a little too much) cake.  It's another Martha recipe; I wasn't specifically looking for it but just like the cookies, I found it while browsing the site and it appealed to me so here we are.  (And by the way, Martha Stewart Cakes is finally coming into existence and I've already pre-ordered it!)

This zucchini-almond cake is basically a foam cake so it has a bouncy texture to it and is very moist, thanks in part to the zucchini.  It's made much like a genoise (except it's not quite one because there's baking powder in it) so you start by whisking eggs and sugar in a bowl set on top of a pot of simmering water to dissolve the sugar and get the eggs ready to be whipped in the mixer to its loftiest potential.  Then you fold in the other ingredients: almond meal mixed together with some potato starch (which I now know helps make a tender cake), melted butter, vanilla, and the grated zucchini.

When it comes to cake, I'm always chasing "moist" and this one definitely fits the bill.  If I have any qualms about it, it's that I've come to discover that gluten-free cakes made wholly with almond meal instead of flour makes for a heavier (albeit, moist) crumb that just makes the cake more filling.  It's light and heavy at the same time, if that makes any sense.  

This may sound crazy because I love almonds but I've now figured out that I, personally, prefer most cakes made with some component of flour instead of all almond meal (I'm not talking about flourless chocolate cakes though - I love those).  So I do wonder what this cake would taste like with some or all of the almonds replaced with, say, cake flour.  It may be a little less moist but I envision a lighter crumb akin to a chiffon cake, which is one of my favorite kind of cakes.

This cake is altogether very different from the zucchini bread cookies. While those are warm, nutty, and slightly spiced, reminiscent of a morning muffin or coffee cake, this zucchini-almond cake is likewise moist but on the side of an eggy-vanilla cake.  It gives off a wonderful perfume of eggs, sugar, and vanilla as it's baking.  It set my brain up for chiffon cake but as I mentioned above, the almond meal makes for a different texture and feel.  My husband didn't find it too heavy so it really is a matter of preference.

I had some cream in the fridge so I whipped some up for my husband to have with the cake.  He never says no to a little whipped cream on top of a piece of cake!  I often hear "this is really good with the whipped cream" from him.  

Making these zucchini recipes makes me wish I had a home garden of my own but, unfortunately, I am no gardener.  Not at all.  I'd love to have just a simple herb box (not even a "garden") but I'm the type of person who can't even keep a simple basil plant alive!  It's safe to say the farmer's market and Whole Foods can continue to count on my business.

Zucchini bread cookies

Getting back from vacation and trying to wind down, it's amazing how quickly I get the urge to head back into the kitchen to bake a little something sweet. The craving to cook and eat are forces to be reckoned with. I've been cooking non-stop since we got home from California since we missed simple, lighter home-cooked meals, and it only took a few days before dessert came back into play again.

I've got vegetables on my mind and I've been thinking about zucchini bread after seeing them on blogs recently.  It made me remember how surprisingly good it is and how I've not tasted it enough. Since I didn't think we could handle a big loaf of zucchini bread right now coming off of vacation, I thought a small batch of zucchini bread cookies would be just the thing to try.  And what do you know! Just like zucchini bread, these cookies took me by surprise - as in being really surprisingly good.

I tweaked the original recipe a bit by substituting half the all-purpose flour with whole wheat pastry flour. I went light on the cinnamon since I prefer it in moderation.  As far as spices go, I suspect a little touch of nutmeg would go very well with the cinnamon here if you want even more depth. I was generous with the toasted walnuts but omitted the cream cheese filling and kept these as simple cookies rather than sandwich cookies.  Together with oats and the zucchini, I think these pass for fairly healthy cookies to munch on - even right after a vacation! I even managed to restrain myself from adding chocolate chips and I'm glad I did because these cookies were full of flavor.

I didn't tell my son about the zucchini in these cookies.  In fact, I called them "muffin cookies" because they do indeed taste like a muffin, or the muffin top! He saw me taking pictures of the shredded zucchini and I made no bones about it but he's an 8-year old boy and just doesn't pay very close attention to what mom's cooking and doing. I knew we had a winner when I held out a bite to him and he took a larger bite and kept going - even with the walnuts! These cookies are really moist, with just enough sweetness. They're aromatic with the cinnamon and toasted walnuts, and I love the texture contributed by the oats. You don't taste the zucchini but it's worked its magic in there somehow.

These cookies made me think of those delicious banana bread cookies I've made in the past.  In both cases, taking a classic for a little spin turned out to be very rewarding. These zucchini bread cookies are something I'm glad I tried and I'll be making again.