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This grain-free flourless Chocolate Zucchini Cake is easy to prepare in a food processor and so delicious. Moist, fudgy, packed with chocolate flavor, and made with wholesome ingredients too!
You’d never in a million years guess this rich and decadent Chocolate Zucchini Cake is made with better-for-you ingredients! Cashew butter, cocoa powder, pure maple syrup, and zucchini do most of the heavy lifting!
Now listen, I’m not going to clickbait you by telling you you’re getting a serving of vegetables by enjoying a slice of this chocolate zucchini cake, but I will say that I personally feel zero guilt over enjoying a hefty portion due to the cleaner ingredients.
It turns out with a light and fluffy texture, moist crumbs, and the most magical display of chocolate decadence your taste buds have ever encountered.
From one chocolate lover to another, I highly recommend you add this gem to your everyday existence!
All you need is some basic ingredients, a food processor or blender, and a cake pan to get this heartthrob going.
I modeled this otherworldly zucchini chocolate cake recipe off of my Sweet Potato Chocolate Cake. I simply swapped fresh zucchini for mashed sweet potato, and the end result was so incredible, I could barely believe my taste buds!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe:
- Wholesome Ingredients: You’d never in a million years guess this delicious cake is made with healthy ingredients, yet it is! The inputs make it a guilt-free treat in my book!
- So Rich and Moist!: It tastes sinfully decadent, just like a great chocolate cake should, in spite of being made with mindfully-sourced ingredients.
- Allergy-Friendly: Naturally gluten-free and grain-free, those with celiac disease or a gluten intolerance will have zero issue with the cake. Make it nut-free by using sunflower seed butter.
Ingredient Notes:
Fresh Zucchini: The whole reason for the recipe! Fresh grated zucchini gets blended into the chocolate cake batter to add so much moisture and a hidden vegetable. It takes the place of oil or milk and helps produce the best texture.
Cashew Butter or Almond Butter: The fat source of the cake, cashew butter or unsweetened almond butter contributes richness, moisture, and helps create structure.
Eggs: Large eggs help the batter rise to its fluffy potential, providing a light airiness amidst the rich flavors.
Unsweetened Cocoa Powder: Responsible for the deep chocolate flavor. I use raw cacao powder because it has a creamier, less bitter flavor, but any kind of unsweetened cocoa powder works great.
Pure Maple Syrup: The sweetener here. I like using pure maple syrup because it is less refined than cane sugar and it also contributes moisture to the cake.
Baking Soda and Vinegar: I chose baking soda as the leavening agent and added a small amount of rice vinegar to elicit the chemical reaction needed for leavening. You can also use lemon juice or a different kind of vinegar.
Ground Cinnamon: In case you’re new here, I add ground cinnamon to almost all of my baked goods because it’s a personal love of mine. I find cinnamon and chocolate pair beautifully! Skip it if you aren’t into it.
Pure Vanilla Extract: Brings a lovely warmth to complement the chocolate flavor.
Sea Salt: Salt is a big flavor enhancer and brings out all of the rich flavors. Don’t skip it!
For the Chocolate Ganache (optional):
Semisweet Chocolate Chips: Pick your favorite kind of chocolate chips to use in your homemade ganache. I use semi-sweet chocolate chips, but dark chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, and sugar-free chocolate chips work great.
Full-Fat Canned Coconut Milk: Adding to the silky-smooth texture of the ganache, full-fat coconut milk is here for richness and smooth texture. Swap it for half & half if you do dairy.
Butter or Coconut Oil: Also here for richness, a little butter or coconut oil brings a shiny sheen to the ganache.
Recipe Customizations:
- Any kind of nut or seed butter works to replace the cashew butter, including peanut butter or sunflower seed butter. Just be sure you enjoy the flavor of whatever you add, as you will be able to taste it.
- Add ⅔ cup of chocolate chips into the cake batter for fudgy pockets of chocolate goo.
- Skip the chocolate ganache for less sugar and fat.
- For low-carb chocolate zucchini cake, use sugar-free maple syrup and sugar-free chocolate chips. I recommend sticking with a liquid sweetener, because I haven’t tested the recipe using a granulated sweetener.
- Swap the ganache for my Sweet Potato Chocolate Frosting.
- Add 1 to 2 teaspoons of instant coffee granules or espresso powder to enhance the rich chocolate flavor.
- Double the recipe to turn it into a layer cake.
How to Make Chocolate Zucchini Cake:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a 9-inch square or round cake pan with parchment paper.
Grate the zucchini using a box grater. You’ll need one cup of shredded zucchini, which is about the equivalent of one small zucchini squash. There is no need to drain the zucchini of excess water, as it is built into the recipe to contribute to the moist texture.
Transfer all of the ingredients for the cake (including the zucchini) to a food processor or a high speed blender and process until a thick cake batter forms.
You may need to stop and start the food processor multiple times to scrape the sides with a rubber spatula in order to help it along.
Pour batter into the prepared pan and spread it into an even layer.
Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 23-28 minutes, or until the cake tests clean. Insert a digital thermometer into the center of the cake. It is ready if it is 190 degrees F or higher in the middle.
Remove the cake from the oven and place it on a wire rack to let the cake cool completely.
Prepare the Chocolate Ganache:
Microwave the ingredients for the chocolate ganache in a microwave-safe bowl for 20-second intervals, stirring in between each interval, until melted, about 60 to 80 seconds total.
Allow the ganache to cool slightly before pouring it on top of the cake. Use a rubber spatula to spread it into an even layer.
Transfer the cake with the ganache to the refrigerator and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until the cake has set up. After the ganache has set up, you can bring it back to room temperature as long as you don’t keep your house too warm.
Cut slices of cake and serve warmed up with a cold glass of milk or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I heat a slice up in the microwave for 25 seconds. This causes the ganache to melt, which makes it an even richer experience.
Storage Options:
- Room Temperature: Cover the cake pan with plastic wrap and store on the counter for up to 2 days. If you’re making the ganache, be sure to refrigerate the cake before leaving it on the counter so that the ganache sets up.
- Refrigerator: Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
- Freezer: For longer term storage, transfer the remaining cake, wrapped in the parchment paper you used for baking, to a large zip lock bag or freezer bag and freeze for up to 2 months.
Recipe Tip
Measure the shredded zucchini before adding it to the food processor. Squash vary in size greatly, and baking recipes require a fine balance of wet ingredients and dry ingredients. It is easy to misjudge amounts without measuring, so be sure to measure for the best results!
There’s no need to wait for a special occasion to enjoy this healthy chocolate zucchini cake recipe! It requires zero baking experience and everyone who tries it will have no clue it isn’t made with regular cake ingredients.
If you have extra zucchini on hand this zucchini season, you simply must enjoy this sweet way of making the most of your zucchini plants.
I enjoyed it so much that I made it for my own birthday cake for my 40th birthday recently.
If you love baking healthier cakes like this, also try some of my other personal favorites.
More Healthy Cake Recipes:
- Black Bean Chocolate Cake
- Gluten-Free Vanilla Cake
- Almond Flour Blueberry Cake
- Cherry Cake
- Strawberry Crumb Cake
- Almond Flour Pumpkin Cake
- Almond Flour Carrot Cake
Zucchini Chocolate Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup grated zucchini
- 1 cup cashew butter , or unsweetened almond butter
- 2 large eggs
- ⅔ cup pure maple syrup
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cider vinegar , or lemon juice
- ⅔ cup cocoa powder
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon, optional
- 3/4 tsp sea salt*
Chocolate Ganache (optional)
- ½ cup full-fat canned coconut milk**
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 1 tbsp coconut oil or butter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a 9-inch square or round cake pan with parchment paper.
- Grate the zucchini using a box grater. You’ll need one cup of shredded zucchini, which is about the equivalent of one small zucchini squash. There is no need to drain the zucchini of excess water, as it is built into the recipe to contribute to the moist texture.
- Transfer all of the ingredients for the cake (including the zucchini) to a food processor or a high speed blender and process until a thick cake batter forms. You may need to stop and start the food processor multiple times to scrape the sides with a rubber spatula in order to help it along.
- Pour batter into the prepared pan and spread it into an even layer.
- Bake on the center rack of the preheated oven for 23-28 minutes, or until the cake tests clean. Insert a digital thermometer into the center of the cake. It is ready if it is 190 degrees F or higher in the middle.
- Remove the cake from the oven and place it on a wire rack to let the cake cool completely.
Prepare the Chocolate Ganache:
- Microwave the ingredients for the chocolate ganache in a microwave-safe bowl for 20-second intervals, stirring in between each interval, until melted, about 60 to 80 seconds total.
- Allow the ganache to cool slightly before pouring it on top of the cake. Use a rubber spatula to spread it into an even layer.
- Transfer the cake with the ganache to the refrigerator and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until the cake has set up. After the ganache has set up, you can bring it back to room temperature as long as you don’t keep your house too warm.
- Cut slices of cake and serve warmed up with a cold glass of milk or a scoop of vanilla ice cream. I heat a slice up in the microwave for 25 seconds. This causes the ganache to melt, which makes it an even richer experience.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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