'Z' is for Zucchini Brownies

Well what can I say...finally I have reached the end. This has taken longer than I hoped, but sometimes time wins! Z has been easy as I had planned this recipe a while back.
When we first married we would of not known what a zucchini (courgette to us commoners) was if we had fallen over one. My mum was mortified when she first saw them in our local Waitrose, and yes Waitrose was around in those days! She felt the whole world was being ripped off, She said 'For the price they are charging for those mini marrows I can buy a HUGE one in the grocers for a fraction of the price.'

We did not have money for anything so exotic, so I first tried them at a posh restaurant a few years later, I cant say I was an immediate fan though! But I believe if you try something 7 times then you will like it.....mmmmm not so sure about that, I like courgettes now, but still hate Weetabix, I think I was force fed it as a baby and now I cannot even look at the bright yellow box without wanting to vomit!
My gang have always loved chocolate cakes especially gooey brownies. But they are not keen on the lovely courgette, but I decided I would sneak it in and see if they noticed:) After all you have carrot cake and beetroot cake! This is not a true brownie but when I took it out from the oven  the texture was more gooey than a regular cake....so it became a brownie!
They looked and smelt delicious....And my gang devoured them very quickly. It was then I told them the secret ingredient....he he. Would a square of these count as one of your 5 a day????

Ingredients
3oz butter
3floz vegetable oil
10oz sugar
1tsp vanilla extract
1tsp each of baking powder and baking soda
pinch of salt
2 large eggs
milk
2oz cocoa powder
9oz self raising flour
1 10 inch courgette grated
4oz chocolate chips
I bar milk chocolate for covering
Method
Line and grease a 9"x 13" pan. pre heat oven to 170C
Beat together butter, oil, sugar, vanilla, salt,  baking powder and soda until smooth.
Beat in the eggs
Sieve the flour and cocoa powder together, add and mix to mixture bit by bit slowly, adding milk if needed to reach a soft dropping consistency.
Fold in the grated courgette and chocolate chips.Spoon batter into pan, and smooth gently.
Bake for 30-40 mins
Turn cake out and leave to cool.
Melt the chocolate saving some for grating over the top. Spread over the top of the cool cake and sprinkle grated chocolate bits over the top.
And now make a cuppa,cut a generous slice, enjoy and start the diet another day :)