Zucchini and Chocolate Chip Patty Cakes

Lately the Big Sister has decided that she doesn't like zucchini.  A very dear friend of mine spends the majority of her waking minutes picking these little green treasures, so this simply will not do.

The parenting bibles suggest that I just keep serving it to her until she changes her mind - but I haven't got that much time.

Frankly, every time I hear her declare "I don't like zucchini" at the Zucchini Farmer's dinner table I will the earth to open up and plant me in the paddock along side the poor maligned vegetables.

So this morning I set out to buy the zucchini some four-year-old love.

To get you up to speed, here are a list of things (among others) that the Big Sister already loves:

Chocolate
Cooking
Patty cake tins

So, I figured if I added a bit of zucchini into the mix, she might realise that courgettes are actually pretty cool.

Zucchini and Chocolate Chip Patty Cakes - Thermochef version

(Makes 12)

300g zucchini, washed and roughly chopped
230g plain flour
1 egg
2 tablespoons Dutch unsweetened cocoa
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
150g sugar
100g vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
200g chocolate chips (add more if you want)

 Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Line a muffin tin with twelve patty cake tins.

Add the zucchini to the thermochef bowl.  Process for 15 seconds, speed 6.

Add egg, oil, sugar, vanilla to the bowl.  Process for 15 seconds, speed 4.

Add the remaining dry ingredients (cocoa, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt and flour).  Process for 15 seconds, speed 5.

Finally, add the chocolate chips and stir - speed 2 for 30 seconds.

Divide the mixture between twelve prepared patty cake tins.

Bake for 25 minutes or until the top of the cakes spring back when lightly touched.

Did it work?

The patty cakes are delicious.  Will they buy the courgette some kudos?  Only time will tell!

Looking for a non-thermo method?

I've adapted this recipe from one I found on epicurious.  You can find the non-thermo recipe over there.  While you're there consider downloading their app - seven million people can't be wrong!

A footnote:

Since writing this post, I learned that when considered botanically the zucchini is actually the swollen ovary of the zucchini plant.  Swollen or not, there's something decidedly off-putting about consuming an ovary.  Choc chip and swollen ovary patty cakes anyone?