A super moist fudgy chocolate zucchini cake is studded with chunks of sweet cherries, and topped with a cherry bourbon butter sauce.
Ingredients
Chocolate Cherry Zucchini Cake:
3 cups + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup unsweetened cocoa (I use dark)
1½ teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
4 eggs, beaten
3 cups sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
⅔ cup boiling water
2 cups fresh pitted quartered sweet cherries
2 cups grated zucchini
Cherry Whiskey Butter Sauce:
3 cups fresh pitted chopped sweet cherries
¼ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1½ tablespoons bourbon
¼ cup water
½ cup cold butter, sliced into pieces
Instructions
To make the cake, preheat oven to 350˚F. Grease and flour a Bundt pan (or use an all-in-one baking spray). Put 3 cups flour, cinnamon, cocoa, salt and soda in a large bowl and whisk together completely. Combine eggs, sugar and oil in a medium bowl. Add wet mixture to flour mixture and stir just until blended. Stir in water. Toss remaining 2 tablespoons flour with 2 cups quartered cherries to keep them from sinking to the bottom of the pan. Fold cherries and zucchini into batter and pour into prepared Bundt pan. Bake in 350˚F oven for 55-65 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean.
In the meantime, place 3 cups chopped cherries, brown sugar, bourbon and water in a large saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil and cook over medium heat until cherries are soft, about 7-10 minutes. Remove from heat and place in a blender, blending until smooth. Pour thru a fine mesh sieve back into the saucepan, pressing on the solids to extract the liquid. Stir in the butter while cooking on medium heat, until sauce is thickened.
Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes. Loosen sides of the cake with a nylon spatula. Place a heatproof serving plate upside down over the pan; turn plate and pan over. Then remove the pan to reveal your masterpiece! Serve warm with the Cherry Bourbon Butter Sauce.