So, I have to admit, I am a bit of a chocoholic.  The darker and richer, the better.  Cakes, pies, mousse, candy, I don't discriminate- although I do try to limit the frequency of indulgence so that my family history of diabetes doesn't catch up with me.

A few summers back, HandyMan and I worked at a great summer camp in Southwest Colorado that we love!  They made a chocolate cake on the regular menu rotation and it was fabulous - and the frosting was amazing! Since I was helping out in the kitchen I snagged their recipe and have used it dozens of times.

I'm usually the last to mess with a good thing.  But I have to admit, that I cannot tell the difference between this chocolate cake and the one we made at camp -unless you lick the spoon.  The batter doesn't taste quite the same but the finished product is fabulous!.

Hidden Veggies Chocolate Cake

Prep Time: 20 Minutes  Cook Time: 40 Minutes

1/2 cup Vegetable Oil

1 cup pureed yellow squash

1  cup Sugar

2 Eggs

1 1/4 cup 1% Milk

1/2 cup Unsweetened Cocoa

2 1/4  cups Flour

1 teaspoon Salt

1 1/2 teaspoons Baking Soda

1 cup Boiling Water

Directions

1. Beat oil and sugar and eggs until smooth.  Add squash and mix thoroughly.

2. Mix cocoa, flours, salt and baking soda in a separate bowl.

3.   Add dry ingredients liquid mixture slowly while mixing or alternate adding dry ingredients and mixing.   *When you have finished this step, it will look like normal cake batter, but you're not done yet.

4. Once fully blended add boiling water and mix until smooth.



5. Pour into a greased 9"x13" pan and bake at 325 for 45 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.  Recipe also makes 12-18 cupcakes, or 2 9” round pans.  Cook rounds and cupcakes for 15-20 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean.



The finished cake is firm and fudgey!  I plan on frosting this one with an Almond Butter Cream frosting - I'll try to get that recipe up next week-but it's great just dusted with powdered sugar as well!  Give it a try and let me know how yours turns out!  Click here for a printable version of this recipe.

9pm ETA: This cake was such a hit at our lunch gathering that the kids were the first to ask if we were going to leave the cake.  So, to requests by many, we came home cakeless.