My Three Favorite Things All Rolled Into One

Pin It If you know me at all you would know that my three of favorite things are giraffes, nutrition, and dessert.  For those of you who don't know me, a quick look around my room would explain my giraffe obsession, my major in school would give away my passion for nutrition, and my collection of recipes would show you how much I love dessert. The reason I am sharing this with you all is because the recipe I am about to share with you rolls all three of these things into one delicious cake! 

The other day I was mindlessly browsing Pintrest when I came across a cake that looked like it was covered in giraffe spots.  It wasn't the creation of some artistic baker either.  The spots were baked right into the cake! SO COOL.  I knew I had to try their new technique out.

A few nights later I decided to test it out and let my residents be the official taste testers.  I promised one of my residents I would make him cake for snack, so it was a perfect time to try it out.  You are probably wondering where the nutrition part of it comes in now huh?  Pretty much anything I make in the kitchen I have to find a way to put a healthy spin on it. It is kind of a weird hobby I have and I enjoy the challenge.  To be honest, it really isn't that hard to lighten up a recipe with a few ingredient swaps or add ins once you learn what works.  Tonight's swaps and add ins included whole wheat flour, olive oil, honey, bananas, and zucchini.

For the recipe and technique on how to make the giraffe spots check out the recipe below! Enjoy and feel free to add your own special swaps and add ins. :)

 

CHOCOLATE BANANA ZUCCHINI CAKE

 

Ingredients:
3/4 cup Whole wheat flour
3/4 cup All-purpose flour (or more whole wheat I just ran out)
1/2 tsp Baking soda
1/2 tsp Baking powder
1/4 tsp Salt
2 Eggs
1/3 cup Honey
1/4 cup Olive oil
2 medium Bananas. mashed
1 medium Zucchini, finely grated (no need to peel, about 1 cup)
3-4 tbsp Unsweetened cocoa powder

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
2. Whisk together the flours, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
3. Whisk together the eggs, honey, oil, and mashed bananas.
4. Stir in the dry ingredients until just combined.
5. To make a giraffe cake scoop some of the batter into a plastic bag and cut off the corner.  Use the bag like you are piping frosting and draw the outline of giraffe spots into the bottom of a greased, foil lined 9 x 13 inch baking dish.
6. Stir the cocoa powder and zucchini into the rest of the batter.
7. Carefully pour the rest of the batter on top of the giraffe spots you made in the bottom of the pan.
8. Gently smooth out the top of the batter.
9. Bake for 15-20 minutes until a toothpick comes out of the center clean.
10. Let cool for 10 minutes.
11.  Place a cookie sheet over the bottom of the baking dish and quickly flip the cake over.
12. Peel away the aluminum foil and voila! You have a nutritious-n-delicious giraffe cake!
Makes 18-24 servings.