Chocolate Zucchini Cake for my Birthday

For the chocolate cake line the bottom of two 18cm/6inch cake pans with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Grate the zucchini into a bowl, pat a bit dry, then add egg, sour cream, vanilla extract and oil. Whisk until combined. Add flour, cocoa powder, sugar, and baking soda and whisk until homogeneous. Divide evenly between the cake pans and bake for 35-45min, an inserted toothpick should come out clean. Let cool completely, release from cake forms and then cut in half so that you have four cake layers.

For the filling cut chocolate in small pieces into a bowl, heat heavy cream with honey until they almost boil, then pour over chocolate. Whisk until evenly combined, lastly add the butter until it is melted, whisk until smooth and glossy. Chill for about two hours in the fridge. Mine took that long to have a spreadable consistency, but this depends on the weather and environment you are in.

To assemble the cake, I always spread about three teaspoons of raspberry jam on each cake layer. Then I would spread three heaping tablespoons of the chocolate filling on each. You should still have enough frosting to cover the cake and create the wave motion (I did this mostly with the back of a spoon). My cake chilled overnight in the fridge prepared like this. I sprinkled it with a bit of chocolate shavings, you may also pipe some dollops on the top with leftover cream. I served the cake with some additional raspberries I cooked with some sugar and vanilla extract, but this is completely optional. The cake freezes beautifully. I recommend cutting in single pieces first, let them freeze for a few hours and then transfer to a container or freezer bag.