One of my favorite foods of the season is zucchini. The summer squash is so versatile — I love using it as a base for pasta sauce or adding it to my favorite meatloaf. The water in zucchini lends perfect moisture to dishes, which also makes it great for baking.

My husband looked at me a little funny when he saw me grating zucchini to throw into my chocolate cake batter last night. “What are you doing with that cucumber?” he asked. I couldn’t stop laughing! He has no interest in tasting this chocolate cake after seeing what went into it, but I promise — as long as they didn’t watch you make it — no one will know zucchini is the secret ingredient to this delicious dessert.

I’ve been experimenting with different sugars and flours lately and I’ve fallen in love with coconut sugar. Coconut sugar is made from the sap of the coconut palm tree and, despite its name, has no coconut flavor whatsoever. The taste is more reminiscent of caramel, similar to conventional brown sugar. You use brown sugar in this recipe if you don’t have coconut sugar on hand.

If you’ve got a garden that’s bursting with zucchini, this is a great way to use some of the squash up. This cake also freezes beautifully!

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

[ingredients title=”Ingredients”]

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cups coconut sugar
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 cups zucchini, grated
• 3 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chunks or chips
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips

[/ingredients]

[directions title=”Directions”]

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Use butter or coconut oil to grease a glass 13 x 9 baking pan.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda and salt until combined. Set aside.
3. In a separate, medium bowl, stir together zucchini, eggs, vanilla and applesauce until combined. Carefully add zucchini mixture to dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Use a rubber spatula to fold in 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips. Pour batter into greased pan, smoothing it out using a rubber spatula.
4. Bake cake for 35 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove cake from oven and place on top of a cooling rack.
5. While cake cools, place 1 cup chocolate chips in a medium, microwave-safe bowl. Heat on high for 10 seconds, then remove from microwave and stir. Repeat this process at 10-second increments until chocolate is melted and smooth. Use a spoon to drizzle melted chocolate all over cake. Allow cake to cool completely before serving.

[/directions]

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When it comes to sweets, I have a serious weakness: all things lemon. It’s a weakness James shares. My mom makes these amazing lemon cookies every Christmas and they last about 24 hours in our house. Seriously, we can’t control ourselves around those things.

We were spoiled when visiting the Amalfi Coast for our honeymoon because the lemons were nearly as big as our heads and showed up in croissants, cookies, cakes and gelato. We even found lemon pasta, which remains the best thing I’ve ever tasted. It was our honeymoon, so we used that as an excuse to indulge in every lemon-flavored treat we could find.

Knowing we can’t resist the temptation of lemon baked goods, I try to avoid making them. Willpower is a tricky thing. But, when I saw this recipe for lemon white chocolate rice krispie treats pop up from Cooking Light, I knew I had to try it. Rice krispie treats are so dang easy and I love the idea of classing them up a bit with additional ingredients.

I cannot believe how deliciously addicting this recipe is. I threw together a batch to take to my in-law’s for Easter Sunday and they were a hit. There’s a lot to be said for low-maintenance, classic desserts like rice krispie treats — they’re hard to beat! This grown-up twist on the childhood classic is my new go-to dessert for impromptu get togethers — and the occasional midnight snack.

Lemon White Chocolate Rice Krispie Treats

from Cooking Light

[ingredients title=”Ingredients”]

• 10 oz. marshmallows
• 1/4 cup butter
• 6 1/2 cups rice krispies cereal
• 1 Tbsp. lemon zest
• 4 oz. high-quality white chocolate

[/ingredients]

[directions title=”Directions”]

1. Combine marshmallows and butter in a large pot over low heat and stir until melted, about five minutes. Remove from heat.
2. Add lemon zest and cereal to pot, stirring until evenly coated.
3. Press rice krispie mixture into a 13 x 9 pan coated with cooking spray. Set aside.
4. Microwave white chocolate in 15-second increments, stirring each time until melted and smooth. Drizzle white chocolate over rice krispie treats and refrigerate for 15 minutes, or until chocolate is set.
   [/directions]

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