Chocolate Zucchini Cake

This moist and fudgy chocolate zucchini cake is an easy yet elegant dessert made in one bowl! Packed with shredded zucchini, no one will know that it’s secretly healthy!

A healthy dessert with vegetables in it? 

It’s time to make a zucchini chocolate cake. 

After rave reviews from both my zucchini brownies and zucchini bread, I had to try it for another dessert. 

If you’ve never had a chocolate cake made with vegetables before, now is the time to do so. Adding zucchini to a chocolate cake is a sneaky way to hide some greens. You won’t be able to taste it, and it adds extra moisture to the cake.

For a healthy chocolate zucchini cake, you’ll be surprised at how good it is. The texture is super moist, with a tender crumb. You won’t taste an ounce of zucchini at all, just a rich, chocolate flavor. Seriously, it is the best cake ever.

Ingredients needed

Unlike most cakes, this one has no eggs, no butter, and no oil in it, but you’d never tell. To compensate, we use unsweetened applesauce (a fabulous butter and egg substitute). Instead of wheat flour, oat flour is used. While I enjoy making my own, I actually used a store-bought version for this cake. This is because it is more finely milled and lighter in texture. 

• Milk and vinegar. Mixed and set for 5 minutes to create a mock buttermilk. I used unsweetened almond milk but any milk works. 
• Oat flour. A wheat-free alternative to traditional white or wheat flour. 
• Cocoa powder. 100% unsweetened and Dutch processed cocoa powder. For a richer flavor, you can use dark cocoa powder. 
• Arrowroot powder. Holds the cake together and helps achieve a moist crumb. 
• Baking powder and soda. Both leavening agents are used to give the cake structure and stability. 
• Unsweetened applesauce. Helps keep the cake moist while adding minimal calories and fat. 
• Coconut sugar OR brown sugar. Either sugar works. 
• Zucchini. Finely shredded, with most of the moisture removed. 
• Chocolate frosting. Either a healthy frosting or a chocolate frosting (dairy free!).

How to make a chocolate zucchini cake

This chocolate cake with zucchini is easy to make: the only thing you need to remember is to let the milk and vinegar sit for 5 minutes for it to curdle and create a buttermilk. You can either make this as a two layer cake (using two 8-inch cake pans) or a three layer cake (using three 6-inch cake pans).  Here’s the basic idea on how to make this chocolate cake (or see the recipe below for specifics):

• Prepare: Line and grease two 8-inch cake pans and mix the milk and vinegar to curdle. 
• Mix: Whisk together your dry ingredients until combined. In a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk, applesauce, and sugar. Combine the two until just combined. 
• Bake: Distribute the batter amongst the two cake pans and bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a skewer comes out mostly clean. 
• Frost: Let the cakes cool completely before frosting, slicing, and serving. 

Dietary swaps and substitutions

This cake is forgiving and can easily be adapted for other diets out there. There are also some substitution ideas if you don’t have a certain ingredient on hand: 

• For a richer cake, swap out half the applesauce with olive oil, butter, or any neutral flavored oil. 
• Swap out the oat flour for either all-purpose flour or wholewheat flour. 
• For a keto chocolate zucchini cake, replace the oat flour with almond flour, use allulose as the sweetener, and swap out the applesauce for full fat yogurt. 
• Swap out the applesauce for either yogurt or sour cream. 
• To cut out the gluten, use gluten free oat flour. 

Tips to make the best recipe

• Do not over-bake the cake, as it will continue to bake as it is cooling down. Unlike my easy chocolate cake, you’ll need to be super careful, as oat flour can dry out goods easily. 
• Squeeze out some of the moisture from the zucchini but not all of it. Some of the moisture helps keep the cake moist and soft. 
• Brown sugar or coconut sugar is necessary to balance out the other ingredients. If you want to use a sugar free substitute, you’ll need to add a fat to it. Swap out

Storage instructions

What is the best way to store a chocolate cake? Does chocolate zucchini cake need to be refrigerated? Here are the best practices for cake storage: 

• Up to 3 days: Store at room temperature, covered, for up to three days. 
• 1 week: Place slices of the cake in a sealable container and store it in the refrigerator. 
• 2 months: Place the baked, cooled, and frosted cake in an airtight container and store it in the freezer. 

More chocolate cake recipes to try

• Keto chocolate cake
• Almond flour chocolate cake
• Flourless chocolate cake
• Death by chocolate cake
• Coconut flour chocolate cake

Frequently Asked Questions