Remember when you were a child and would come home from school on your birthday and there was a cake.  Usually a homebaked cake, sometimes a bakery cake, but someone made you a cake.  Now we are grown up and nobody makes us cake.  Heck most of the time I don't even get cake.  I don't even remember buying myself cake for my birthday.
    Today is my birthday and there was no cake in the house.  Not even an outdated cake mix that has been in the cupboard for who knows how long.  I decided I wanted cake.  I had zucchini in the freezer so I decided zucchini cake was better than nothing. I searched the interweb for zucchini cake and on kraftfoods.com I found 2 recipes for chocolate zucchini cake.  I really wanted to make the first one I found but I lack sour cream.  Normally I would just substitute vanilla yogurt, but the only yogurt I have is flavored...i.e. strawberry banana and banana cream pie. So I made the second recipe, but had to make a couple substitutions.  The recipe called for 1/4 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder so I used what cocoa I had (short about a tablespoon) and added 3 squares of melted unsweetened bakers chocolate.   It could have been chocolate over-kill but it turned out well.  The recipe also called for 1/2 cup of oil, but I only had 1/4 cup so i substituted 1/4 cup extra of butter.  Yes I used full butter and not the oleo that the recipe called for.  when i mixed up the batter it resembled chocolate mousse and was already fluffy and tall when i put it into the oven.  I was kind of afraid it would over-flow but it did not by some magic. The cake turned out alright, feel like it might need a bit more sugar and some moisture i.e. the sourcream or the other 1/4 cup of oil, but over all it turned out well.  It took one hour to bake at 325 degrees F.
     The original recipe says 1/4 C cocoa, maybe someone used regualar drinking cocoa which would make it sweeter.  I did not have buttermilk today so I used regular powdered milk reconstituted to 1/2 cup and put in 1 tsp white distilled vinegar and let it sit for a few mins. Items in parenthesis are things I changed otherwise this is the original recipe I found on kraftfoods.com posted by lshook81.

                      KIM'S KOBBLED DOUBLE CHOCOLATE ZUCCHINI CAKE

2 1/2 cups of flour
1/4 cup (1/8 +1 TBS) unsweetened cocoa powder
(3 squares unsweetened baking chocolate, melted)-maybe should use sweetened
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup oleo (+1/4 cup)
1/2 cup cooking oil (I used 1/4 cup)
1 3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 cups grated zucchini
6 oz. chocolate chips
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (I did not use walnuts)

Sift flour, cocoa, soda, and salt. In large mixing bowl, cream oleo, oil, and sugar. Mix with electric mixer until fluffy. (Melt the baking chocolate and cream with the butter, oil and sugar, add the extra butter in place of the oil at this step also).

Beat in eggs, and vanilla. Add dry ingredients alternating with the buttermilk. mix until all is blended together, and add zucchini.

Pour into a greased 13x9x2 pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and nuts. Bake @ 325 for 40-50 minutes or until done.