When it comes to a prolific crop like zucchini, you can’t have too many ways to use it. My first choices are always savory: gratings for Zucchini–Basil Pancakes, slices for a fresh Mixed Vegetable Stir-Fry, or cubes to fold into Shrimp and Summer Squash Enchiladas with Homemade Enchilada Sauce, toss with pasta, or skewer onto Veggie Shish Kebabs with Garlicy Marinade. I pickle plenty of zucchini too, especially as a grilled side dish of Zucchini Escabeche and jars of Double-Spiced Zucchini for my refrigerator, two of several zucchini recipes I included in my pickling cookbook.

Zucchini also bakes beautifully into sweets, such as Zucchini Bread with Sesame Seeds and the cake recipe I share this week in my Twice as Tasty column for the Flathead Beacon. I usually fold other homegrown and homemade ingredients into these bakes for truly Twice as Tasty treats.

Learn more about baking with your harvest and get the complete recipe for Chocolate Zucchini Cake in my column.

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Twice as Tasty

Many of the ingredients in Chocolate Zucchini Cake come straight from my pantry and fridge. Unsalted butter, oil, sugar, farm-fresh eggs, flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and powder, and spices are all staples I always have on hand, so cake can become an on-the-fly dessert when I haul too many zucchini in from the garden.

My kitchen usually holds homemade versions of other staples I use in zucchini cake. I’ve shared these recipes on the blog and in my column.

• Homemade Vanilla Extract
• Homemade Small-Batch Yogurt
• Homemade Sour Cream
• Cultured Buttermilk
• Ganache (Chocolate Glaze)

For zucchini bread, I use homemade applesauce, either my chunky frozen version or canned smooth style. You can find more homemade takes on kitchen staples in the recipe index.

Want more Twice as Tasty recipes? Get my books! Click here to order a personally signed, packaged, and shipped copy of The Complete Guide to Pickling directly from me. I also share tasty ways to use pickles in The Pickled Picnic; it’s only available here.