Zucchini Cake/Bread or Beware the Oncoming Hordes!

I posted this comment this comment on Facebook the other day to demonstrate what's happening in our garden...

"The zucchini onslaught begins.... The first wave has been intercepted and dispatched. But there is evidence of another approaching, larger and more plentiful than the one before. We begin to stockpile olive oil, parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs to seal the fate of some of the oncoming onslaught,... flour, chocolate chips and a large hotbox to dispense of the others. But I fear that being overrun by the horde is inevitable. Send ranch dressing and pray for us..."

Yeah, I planted two zucchinis this year...  and I now have 5 giant zucchinis sitting on my kitchen counter.  Since I missed August 8th, which was National Sneak Some Zucchini onto Your Neighbor's Porch Day (A real thing, I swear, Google it!!!), I'm going to have to start cooking like a madman.

And it seems our Zucchini Parmesan recipe was REALLY popular.  Looks like many of you have an overload of squash in your backyards as well.

So let me give you all my favorite Zucchini Bread and Zucchini Cake recipe.  It's what I grew up eating, since we always had a few plants in the garden.  You leave them alone for three days and you have zucchinis the size of baseball bats.

My mom would make TONS of bread and cake and then try to hand out the rest, but since most everyone else had their own plants, she couldn't find homes for most.  You want a new horror movie, ignore Attach of the Killer Tomatoes, go with Attack of the 50 Foot Zucchini.

Anyway, this recipe is great.  Either creation comes out moist, tender and slightly crunchy on the outer crust. The excess can be frozen for up to 3 months, so you can enjoy it after the plants have wilted under the holiday snow.

And the cream cheese frosting you can use with the cake is to die for.  You owe yourself to make this at least once in your life.

Zucchini Bread and Zucchini Cake

1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup oil
3 eggs
2 cups grated zucchini
1 tablespoon vanilla
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soda
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
1/2 cup nuts (optional)

Beat the sugars, oil and eggs until they're foamy. Add the zucchini and vanilla and mix until combined. In a separate bowl, add the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon and stir until combined. SLOWLY add the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients until all of it is incorporated. Add the chocolate chips and the nuts (if you want) and just stir until they're evenly distributed.

If you want the cake, pour all of the mixture into a greased and floured 13x9 pan and bake at 325 degrees for 40 minutes. If you want bread, evenly distribute the batter between two greased and floured bread pans and cook at 325 degrees for 70 minutes.

Cream Cheese frosting for the cake....

2 3 ounce packages of cream cheese - softened
1/2 cup butter - softened
2+ cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat the cream cheese and butter until it's fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar until it's the consistency you want. Add the vanilla and mix for another 20 seconds. Then slather all over the cake. Sprinkle nuts over the top if you want.

Try it out, let me know what you think