Zucchini Brownie Cake

Even when you're trying to eat more healthfully, special events arise when you need a yummy treat. I'm not calling this recipe "health food", but I feel that it is a healthier alternative to other treats. Tonight, we're visiting special friends and were asked to bring a dessert. This dessert tastes phenomenal and you'd never know it is packed with zucchini. The recipe produces a sort of cake-like brownie and requires no eggs. It will not look pretty before you bake it, but you will be amazed at how you won't be able to detect the zucchini afterward. I have successfully substituted unsweetened applesauce for half of the oil.

Zucchini Brownie Cake
1/2 cup vegetable oil (or 1/4 cup oil and 1/4 cup applesauce)
1 1/2 cups sugar (reduced to 1 1/4 cup without a difference in taste)
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour (a combination of white and whole wheat works well)
1/2 cup cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups shredded zucchini
1/2 cup chopped nuts or chocolate chips, optional
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix together oil, sugar, and vanilla until well blended. In another bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt. Stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Mixture will be very dry. Fold in zucchini (and nuts or chocolate chips, if using). Pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until it springs back when touched. Allow to cool completely before frosting.

Chocolate Frosting
6 Tablespoons cocoa
1/4 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Melt together the cocoa and butter, and set aside to cool. In a medium bowl, blend together powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla. Stir in the cocoa mixture. Spread over cooled brownie cake.

**UPDATE**
I made this brownie cake again using applesauce for all of the oil and whole wheat for half of the flour and baked them in a muffin pan. Even without the frosting, my family still gobbled them up.