Chocolate Zucchini Cake Recipe
This chocolate zucchini cake is a moist and fudgy recipe, sweet enough with no frosting, dusted with powdered sugar. A great use of zucchini!
This super moist zucchini cake is guaranteed to become one of your go-to dessert recipes this summer and fall! It’s my mom’s recipe, made with coffee (or espress0) and a hint of cinnamon. We dust our cake with powdered sugar–no reason to add a thick, high-calorie frosting for this recipe! [This recipe has been on the blog since July 2016!]
Chocolate Zucchini Cake Recipe
Zucchini adds texture, and chocolate is always so satisfying! You never taste zucchini in this cake, and it makes a great dessert with your summer squash supply. Use either yellow or green zucchini!
This recipe is so easy to make and if you’re craving another rich zucchini cake, where zucchini meets banana, then try this cake with maple frosting.
Why I love this recipe
- Uses leftover garden squash.
- Not so sweet – without the thick frosting – but sweet enough.
- I love to stir the cake batter by hand, because it’s nice and lumpy.
- Serve alone (it’s great), or add a spoonful of whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
Another thing I learned from mom? You can make this cake ahead, and store it for 3-4 days! My mom was always baking cakes, freezing them, and frosting them right before the guests would arrive.
Gather these ingredients:
- Butter
- Flour
- Cocoa powder
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Ground cinnamon
- Sugar
- Eggs
- Oil (canola or vegetable)
- Vanilla
- Brewed, cooled espresso or strong coffee
- Grated zucchini
- Semisweet chocolate chips
- Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting
How do you make Chocolate Zucchini Cake?
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
- Generously grease the inside of a 10-inch Bundt pan with butter or a 9×13 pan, then coat with a generous amount of flour. Shake out any excess flour in the pan.
- Whisk together flour, the cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a bowl.
- Combine butter and the granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on low, then medium speed, until well incorporated and creamy. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, then the oil and vanilla extract; beat on medium speed until well blended and smooth. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- With the mixer on low speed, alternate adding the following ingredients, beating until well incorporated after each addition: 1 cup of the flour mixture, then 1/4 cup of the espresso or strong coffee; 1 cup of the flour mixture, then 1/4 cup of the espresso or strong coffee; then the remaining flour mixture.
- Stir in the zucchini and chocolate chips. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Bake until a tester inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Cool; dust with confectioners’ sugar, if desired, and serve warm!
Tips and substitutions:
Who would ever guess that there is zucchini in this chocolate cake? You’ll never taste it, and there are a couple of tips to making this recipe.
- One cup of shredded zucchini is about one medium zucchini.
- No need to peel the zucchini before using. It’s okay to leave the skin on.
- Grate the zucchini in smaller pieces. The cake has a better texture.
- What does zucchini replace in baking? Zucchini acts as a wet ingredient in baking. It doesn’t replace a fat like oil or butter or eggs, but it does add moisture and volume. You could potentially replace it with sour cream, but it would change the texture of the cake.
- You can make this recipe in a bundt pan, but you will need to bake the cake longer. See baking times in the full recipe.
How do you serve and store this cake?
After cooling the cake, dust the cake with powdered sugar.
Or, you can serve it warm with vanilla ice cream or fresh whipped cream.
This cake will store in the fridge for up to 5 days. If you’ll be eating this within 2 days, it should be fine on the counter.
Mom’s garden was full of zucchini, so when I found this recipe in the pile that she left behind, I knew I needed to bake a cake for Mom today!
Making the most of our days is rewarding and enjoyable. How we choose to spend our time may not be the same for one person, as it is for another. I personally love to host people in our home. Others may prefer to meet for a meal out, or simply dessert and coffee.
I think my mom would approve of both, and of this cake for dessert today!
Enjoy!
More zucchini recipes to try:
Shredded Zucchini Almond Flour Pancakes
Get the Recipe:
Chocolate Zucchini Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pan (1 stick)
- 2 ¼ cups flour, plus more for the pan
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup oil
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ cup brewed cooled espresso or strong coffee
- 2 cups grated zucchini, from 2 medium zucchini, okay to wash and leave the skin on
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Generously grease the inside of a 10-inch Bundt pan with butter or a 9×13 pan, then coat with a generous amount of flour. Shake out any excess flour in the pan.
- Whisk together 2 ¼ cups flour, the cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a bowl.
- Combine the ½ cup of butter and the granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat on low, then medium speed, until well incorporated and creamy. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, then the oil and vanilla extract; beat on medium speed until well blended and smooth. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- With the mixer on low speed, alternate adding the following ingredients, beating until well incorporated after each addition: 1 cup of the flour mixture, then ¼ cup of the espresso or strong coffee; 1 cup of the flour mixture, then ¼ cup of the espresso or strong coffee; then the remaining flour mixture.
- Stir in the zucchini and chocolate chips. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Bake for 50-55 minutes (bundt cake), or 35-40 minutes (9×13 pan), or until a tester inserted into the middle comes out clean.
- Cool in the pan for 15 minutes; dust with confectioners’ sugar, if desired, and serve warm! (Or, with whipped cream or ice cream.)
Notes
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
I could not edit for it to bake in a 9×13 pan… beautiful batter…tasty too..ya ya I know.. beautiful!
Blessings of peace & comfort as well as the joy of happy memories. Millie raised a wonderful daughter & this simple cake makes me think of how warm & gracious Millie must have been. Thank you for sharing a cherished recipe. PW
Thank you! :)
I have a chocolate zuch recipe we love, too! SO moist!! We bought some rhubarb to make one of my Grandma’s recipes and inside the cookbook was a note she had written to my Granny saying she was cutting up rhubarb and how many calves had been born on the farm – my daughter got a kick out of that!
One of your sons looks so much like your mom!
Oh … I love that. Food + farm talk. It reminds me of my friend, Barb, in WI, and my grandma, too!
Sandy, you are on my heart and in my prayers each time I read a post about your Mom.❤️Big hugs to you today.
Oh, Becky, thank you! Life is good, and so precious, but I never want to forget my mom! :)
That looks so good. Definitely pinned it to make later. Hugs to you as you. I love to think of how much my mom would’ve enjoyed doing life with all of us were she still here. I LOVE making a recipe that was from her, and thinking about times she made it when we were younger.