Chocolate Zucchini Cake

I got this cake recipe from a dear friend of mine and since we had so much zucchini from our garden this year, I decided to give it a try. I made it a couple weeks ago, thinking we would have occasion to eat it, but then plans changed and so I froze it. I took it out yesterday and then frosted it with this delicious coffee/cinnamon frosting. And then I added some fall-ish sprinkles to make it pretty. =) It is a delicious and moist cake and froze really well. 

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups sifted all purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 

1 teaspoon baking soda 

1 teaspoon salt 

1 3/4 cups sugar 

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 cup vegetable oil 

2 large eggs 

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup buttermilk 

2 cups grated unpeeled zucchini (about 2 1/2 medium) 

1 6-ounce package (about 1 cup) semisweet chocolate chips 

3/4 cup chopped walnuts 

Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter and flour 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan. Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt into medium bowl. Beat sugar, butter and oil in large bowl until well blended. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla extract. Mix in dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk in 3 additions each. Mix in grated zucchini. Pour batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips and nuts over.

Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Cool cake completely in pan. 

Frosting

10 Tbsp. softened butter

3 c. powdered sugar

1/4 c. cocoa

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

2-4 Tbsp. strong coffee

Place ingredients in large mixing bowl.  Beat with the wire whip

attachment, adding coffee 1 T. at a time.  Add more coffee if

necessary.  Frosting should be smooth and able to hold a

swirl with the back of a spoon.