- Last updated on October 30, 2024
What do you do when life gives you way too many zucchini? Make cake, of course.
This year our plants produced over 100 pounds of zucchini. Now, I love zucchini, but that’s… a lot. One of our favorite ways to use it up has been making this amazing double chocolate cake, which was adapted from the recipe from King Arthur Baking Company (which you can find here).
It’s moist, delicious, and extra chocolatey making it the perfect way to make some dessert out of our homegrown zucchini. Plus, you really cannot tell that there’s zucchini in this cake (just in case you’re not a fan of the idea of squash in dessert). Check out the recipe below!
The Best Double Chocolate Zucchini Cake
This double chocolate zucchini cake has always been a hit in our house and is a personal favorite dessert of mine. Shredded zucchini makes this cake ultra-moist, while cocoa powder and semi-sweet chocolate chips double up the chocolatey flavor. If you have some extra zucchini lying around, I highly encourage you to try this cake!
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Servings: 12
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 stick salted butter softened to room temperature (See Note 1 below)
- 1¾ cup white granulated sugar
- ½ cup avocado oil (or any neutral oil)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract (shop my favorite on Amazon)
- 2 large eggs
- ⅔ cup sour cream
- 2 tsp espresso powder or instant coffee (regular or decaf, whichever you prefer)
- ½ tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- 3 loosely packed cups shredded zucchini (or approx. 360-400 grams by weight- see Note 2 below)
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder (my favorite is from Ghiradelli)
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 cake pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar using a hand mixer until smooth, which should take approximately 1-2 minutes.1 stick salted butter, 1¾ cup white granulated sugar
- Add the avocado oil, vanilla extract, eggs, sour cream, espresso powder, salt, baking powder, and baking soda to the butter and sugar. Mix until smooth.½ cup avocado oil, 2 tsp vanilla extract, 2 large eggs, ⅔ cup sour cream, 2 tsp espresso powder or instant coffee, ½ tsp salt, 1 tsp baking powder
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and cocoa powder.2½ cups all-purpose flour, ¾ cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder, ½ tsp baking soda
- Add the flour mixture about 1/3 at a time to the mixing bowl containing the wet ingredients. Mix only briefly after each addition of dry ingredients.
- Fold in the shredded zucchini and chocolate chips until just well incorporated. Do not overmix! Excessive mixing will allow gluten to develop and may result in a tough cake.3 loosely packed cups shredded zucchini, 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Pour or spoon the cake batter into the greased pan and bake for 39-42 minutes at 325°F When the cake is done, the top should spring back lightly when touched and a toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean. Do not overbake! (See Note 3 below)
- Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack.
- Enjoy your chocolate zucchini cake! This cake is moist and delicious as is, with no frosting! However, feel free to top it with a dusting of powdered sugar, chocolate ganache, or frosting of your choice if you’d like.
Notes from the Happy To Be Here Kitchen
Note 1. Butter: I like to bake with salted butter, but unsalted butter may certainly be used depending on your preference. Just add a bit more salt to the recipe than what is called for above if you use unsalted butter.
Note 2. Zucchini: While not necessary, I prefer to peel and scoop out the seeds prior to finely shredding the zucchini, especially if using the large zucchini from our garden. If the zucchini I am using is particularly moist/watery, I shred it and then allow it to sit on a paper towel for a minute or two before measuring by either weight or volume.
Note 3. Baking: While a toothpick inserted into the cake should come out clean when the cake is fully baked, you may hit a melted chocolate chip that makes it seem like the cake is underbaked. This cake is supposed to be moist, chocolatey, and gooey- so do not be fooled and overbake it!
Leave a rating and review below to let me know how you like this chocolate zucchini cake!
As a chocolate lover, it’s one of my absolute favorites. If you’re still in a sweet treat kind of mood, check out one of my other favorite cakes, this cinnamon swirl coffee cake.
Pin the image below to come back to this zucchini recipe!
2 Responses
Super moist, easy and great chocolate flavor – everybody loved it. No one guessed there was healthy zucchini in this cake. Have made it three times already – thanks!!
Glad you loved it!!