Zucchini Cake with Ginger and Hazelnuts

This extraordinary cake is a sophisticated riff on the ubiquitous zucchini bread. It's more delicate and tender than the classic loaf, fresh ginger and orange zest add a dash of vibrancy, and hazelnuts add crunch. It's also blissfully simple to make. Just two bowls, a wooden spoon and a tube (or bundt) pan and you're on your way. Zucchini is a low calorie, nutrient and fiber dense vegetable rich in vitamin C, potassium, vitamin A and antioxidants.

Makes: 12 servings
Time to cook: 1 hour

Ingredients

· 2 cups flour

· 1 teaspoon baking soda

· ¾ teaspoon baking powder

· ½ teaspoon salt

· 1¼ cups sugar

· 2 large eggs

· ½ cup vegetable oil

· ⅓ cup orange juice

· 2 teaspoons orange zest

· 2 teaspoons peeled, grated ginger root

· 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

· 1½ cups grated zucchini

· ½ cup finely chopped hazelnuts

Cooking Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Stir in the sugar. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, oil, orange juice, zest, ginger and vanilla. Pour the wet ingredients into the bowl with the flour and stir until just combined. Fold in the zucchini and hazelnuts.

2. Butter and flour a tube pan. Scrape the batter into the pan and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and cool completely on a wire rack. Slice and serve.

Nutrition per serving
294 calories; 14 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 10 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 39 grams carbohydrates; 1 gram fiber; 4 grams protein; 22 grams sugar; 207 milligrams sodium

Recipe by Molly O’Neill, NY Times Cooking  

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