Chocolate Zucchini Cake
A classic retro dessert, this chocolate zucchini cake gets its incredible texture from summer’s most abundant vegetable.
By Yankee Magazine|Aug 26 2022|
Chocolate Zucchini Cake
Photo Credit: Amy TraversoThis cake, long a NewEngland.com favorite, may have been invented as a way to put excess zucchini to good use, but it’s so tasty that we recommend it even if you have to buy the produce. The bland flesh, which you grate and fold into the batter, cooks down to the point of undetectability (that’s one way to sneak some vegetables into a picky eater’s diet). And as the cake cooks, all the water stored in the plant’s cells releases, resulting in a wonderfully moist texture.
You can serve this cake as a plain loaf or dust it with confectioners’ sugar. We like to take it a step further, though, and top it with a very easy no-cook chocolate frosting.
Yield
2 loaves
Ingredients
½ cup unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pans
½ cup vegetable oil
1¼ cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup buttermilk*
2½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pans
¼ cup cocoa
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon table salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups grated zucchini (from about 1 large zucchini)
12 ounces mini chocolate chips
Chocolate frosting (see recipe below) or confectioners’ sugar
Instructions
*If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, mix ½ cup milk with 1 teaspoon vinegar or lemon juice and let sit for a few minutes.
Grease 2 standard loaf pans, then sprinkle with flour to coat. Shake to remove excess. Preheat an oven to 325° and set a rack to the middle position.
In a medium bowl, use a handheld or standing mixer to cream the butter, oil, and sugar together for 1 minute, scraping the bottom with a spatula halfway through. Add the eggs and vanilla, and beat for an additional minute, scraping once more. Add the buttermilk and beat until blended.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients, then add to the butter-sugar mixture. Mix until evenly combined, scraping the bowl as needed. Stir in zucchini and chocolate chips and mix until evenly combined. Divide the batter among the 2 loaf pans.
Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, and the cakes are beginning to pull away from the sides, 45 to 55 minutes. Remove from pan and let cool. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar or frost the top with chocolate frosting (see recipe below). Serve.
Chocolate Frosting
Ingredients
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon table salt
1 or 2 tablespoons milk or heavy cream
Instructions
In a medium bowl, use a standing or handheld mixer to beat the butter with the confectioners’ sugar for 1 minute. Add cocoa powder, vanilla, and salt, and beat for another minute or two. Add enough milk or cream to reach your desired consistency, then spread over cooled cakes.
I have used this recipe for years! It freezes well for a winter treat, and it is a great way to get the kids to eat zucchini. They didn’t even know it was in the cake! Thanks for all your recipes. They sure make meal planning easier.
So easy and so yummy! You don’t feel one bit guilty eating this delicious cake. I have made it many times and always receive a request for a copy of the recipe. This cake is the best chocolate cake ever!!!
Is the frosting for just the top of the cakes or the sides as well?
Are the loaf pans 9×5 or 8×4?
Hi Martha,
I like to just frost the top. The cake is rich and chocolatey, thanks to the chips, so a full frost almost felt like overkill.
Thank you!
Hi Victoria, I made the cake in an 8 x 4 and in a 9 3/4 x 4 1/4 and it worked well in both.
Do you peel Zucchini?
I never peel my zucchini…however, I do cut out any large seeds.
I peeled
No you don’t peel for an zucchini recipe.Csnt wait to try this and the fact it makes two loaves is even better.pleasr print more ways to enjoy and use up zucchini..
Instead of flouring the pans I used cocoa powder giving it a more chocolate taste
It looks watery after 45 min what happened
This is the most decadent, moist chocolate cake ever! The trick with grated zucchini is to squeeze out all its water. My potato ricer works best. Freeze any leftover zucchini for baking later.
We’ve made a similar recipe many times. Instead of frosting we simply spread more dark chocolate chips on top before baking. It’s not as sweet as a frosted cake.
Just received my lastest issue, with this Chocolate Zucchini Cake. Had to make. It the best, most moist and tasty cake. I used Bob’s gluten free 1 to 1 flour. Came out perfectly. The directions are spot on. Will make again for church coffee hour. Wish it gave the nutritional values. I need to track! Thank you!
Wow! This was a great cake. So moist. I made the recipe as written, but next time plan to leave out the cinnamon (I’m not a fan of it). The icing is just perfect