Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Ultra chocolaty! I doubt any kids would guess there’s a vegetable involved here.
Texture: Rich, fudgy, and moist.
Ease: Super quick and easy. No mixer, no assembling, no decorating.
Pros: Simple summer treat!
Cons: None 🙂
Would I make this again? Absolutely, all season long.
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We’re about to head into the height of zucchini season, which is just one of the many reasons you’ll adore this Chocolate Zucchini Cake.
I love getting fresh zucchini from the farmer’s market all summer long. It’s one of those veggies that’s so easy to cook and bake with. You can find a million ways to get creative whether you’re going savory or sweet. And it doesn’t take nearly an hour to cook like root veggies.
Adding zucchini to cake happens to be one of my favorite ways to use the stuff. I also enjoy a good zucchini bread, like this Lemon Yogurt Zucchini Bread.
I love snack cakes like this recipe because they’re just one layer, and there’s no assembly or decorating required. They’re also super easy to transport. You don’t even need an electric mixer for the batter or the icing here!
That makes this recipe perfect for bringing to a summer potluck or BBQ. Especially if you have an abundance of zucchini to use up!
I find many chocolate zucchini cakes to be kind of bland and a little dry. Read my tips below for getting a super rich and fudgy cake with tons of chocolate flavor.
This might just become your new favorite zucchini recipe!
How to Make Moist Chocolate Zucchini Cake
The Best Cocoa Powder for Chocolate Cake
Cocoa powder lends more chocolate flavor than melted chocolate. But it can also zap some moisture, so read my tips below for how to make sure your cake is nice and tender and moist. This recipe uses natural unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch process cocoa powder). Learn more about cocoa powder here.
For best results, weigh your cocoa powder and flour to ensure you don’t over-measure. This will result in a dry cake. If you don’t have a digital kitchen scale, then use the spoon-and-level method.
How to Shred Zucchini for Cake (IMPORTANT!)
To avoid gummy, dense, or unbaked Chocolate Zucchini Cake, it’s important to remove as much excess water from the zucchini as possible.
- Start by washing the zucchini and trimming the ends. Grate using the big holes of a box grater. Scoop up the shredded zucchini and place in a strainer or colander. Move on to prepare the rest of the ingredients and batter for the recipe.
- Once you’re ready to add in the zucchini, wrap it in a clean towel or paper towels and give it a very tight squeeze with your hands to wring out excess water. Do this a few times. If your hands aren’t quite strong enough, you can also press the zucchini inside a potato ricer or hand-held citrus squeezer. This is super effective at getting rid of water.
- Once you fold in the zucchini to the batter, stir gently until JUST combined. Over-mixing can cause a tough or gummy texture.
Why Use Butter AND Oil in a Cake?
- I find this provides the best of both worlds.
- You get the wonderful flavor from the butter and the moist texture from the oil.
- This is because oil is a liquid at room temperature so it gives your palate the sensation of moisture.
- Learn more about Butter vs. Oil in Baking here.
How to Bake a Moist & Fudgy Chocolate Cake
- In addition to the tips above, using ingredients like brown sugar, full-fat sour cream, and an extra egg yolk all help to add richness and moisture to this cake.
- That’s because these ingredients both tenderize and draw and hold onto moisture.
- You can learn more about how baking ingredients work in my Magic of Baking online class.
Can I Substitute the Sour Cream?
You can use full-fat plain yogurt instead!
What Type of Chocolate Chips Should I Use?
I used semi-sweet chocolate chips, but you could experiment with milk chocolate chips, mini chocolate chips, or even white chocolate chips, if you prefer.
Is it Better to Bake a Cake in a Glass or Metal Pan?
- This recipe is best baked in an 8-inch metal baking pan.
- Metal conducts heat more quickly and efficiently than glass or ceramic so you won’t have any issues with an under-baked center.
- If you must use glass or ceramic, reduce the baking temperature to 325°F and increase the baking time by 5 to 10 minutes.
- Learn more about Glass vs. Metal Baking Pans in my article here.
Frosting for Zucchini Cake
I used a simple icing for this Chocolate Zucchini Cake recipe, but you could also use my cream cheese frosting or even this chocolate frosting.
Can I Double this Recipe?
Yes! Double all ingredients, bake in a 9 by 13-inch pan, and add about 5 to 10 minutes to the baking time. If using glass, see note above.
How Long Does Chocolate Zucchini Cake Last?
This Zucchini Cake can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Can You Freeze Chocolate Zucchini Cake?
- Freeze individual slices on parchment paper for about 15-30 minutes, then wrap each in plastic wrap and place in an airtight container.
- Defrost in the fridge or on the counter and let come to room temperature before enjoying.
- I recommend freezing the cake unfrosted.
More Chocolate Cake Recipes
- Best Ever Chocolate Cake
- Chocolate Bundt Cake
- Easy Chocolate Sheet Cake
- Guinness Chocolate Cake with Irish Buttercream
- Flourless Chocolate Cake
Easy Chocolate Zucchini Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (143 grams) all-purpose flour, measured correctly
- 1/2 cup (43 grams) unsweetened cocoa, measured correctly
- 1 cup (200 grams) light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 4 tablespoons (57 grams) unsalted butter, melted
- 1/4 cup fresh vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup (120 grams) full fat sour cream or plain whole milk yogurt, at room temperature
- 2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup (136 grams) shredded zucchini, from about 1 medium zucchini
- 1 cup (170 grams) semisweet chocolate chips
For the icing:
- 1/2 cup (63 grams) powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 tablespoon milk
Instructions
Make the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8 by 8-inch metal baking pan* with parchment paper then spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, sugar, salt, and baking soda.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the melted butter, oil, sour cream, eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla extract.
- Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Stir until a few streaks of flour remain. Squeeze out any additional moisture from the shredded zucchini before adding to the batter (see recipe post for tips on reducing excess moisture, which will create a gummy cake texture). Add in the chocolate chips. Stir until just barely combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean. If your cake sinks slightly in the middle, that's normal because it's so moist and rich!
- Let cool completely.
Make the frosting:
- In a medium bowl, stir together the sugar and milk with a fork until smooth and thick but pourable. Drizzle all over the cake. Let set before serving.
- Cake can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Recipe Notes
Photos by Ashley McLaughlin.
THE BEST! The zucchini disappears and it turns into a rich, moist, chocolate cake. And super easy to make. I would recommend to anyone, and will be making this again and again.
YAY! So glad to hear it, Sarah! Thanks for the rave review 🙂
Hi! This was one of my favorite recipes last summer, but now I can’t recall how I measured the zucchini. Should we have 1 cup before removing the moisture or after? I would imagine 1 cup compressed will be much more than a cup to start with. Thanks!
Hi Nina! You’ll want to start out with 1 cup of just shredded zucchini. You’ll squeeze the moisture out of the shredded zucchini right before adding it to the batter. Enjoy your cake! 🙂
Very delicious cake! Perfectly moist, not too dense or airy. I added a little bit of instant coffee powder to the wet ingredients to elevate the chocolate. The overall taste and texture reminds me of the giant chocolate muffins from Costco.
So happy you enjoyed this cake, Melinda!
Hey, I just have a quick question ^^
How many grams (or ml) are 1/4 cup of vegetable oil? I live in Europe and we don’t use cups here and on the internet are so many different answers, so I’m kinda unsure about that
There’s about 224 grams of oil in 1 cup, so about 56 grams should be perfect 🙂
Hi sweetie
I just have a question if I may
how I can make chocolate chip cookies less sweet, but keep the same texture?
Can you give me a recipe or a way to do that
Thank you
Your best bet is to probably search for low sugar chocolate chip cookie recipes on Google. I don’t ever recommend reducing the sugar in regular cookie recipes as it can alter the chemistry of them!
Delicious! Super moist and chocolates. Thank you!
I froze several bags of shredded zucchini, would I follow the same steps after it defrosts? Wringing it out? I would assume so but wanted to double check in case it adds additional moisture! Thank you!
I haven’t tried that, but I’d recommend making sure it’s very well drained! Other than that, it should be fine, let me know how it goes!
This cake is delicious & so easy. I put chocolate ganache & sprinkles on top. Will make this again
Yay! So thrilled you enjoyed this recipe.
Moist and delicious! It came out of the oven about 30 minutes ago. I couldn’t wait for it to cool completely to eat a piece. I definitely will make it again.
Hey this is super important , please answer as soon as you can. How many calories are there, because I need to know soon, I am needing this recipe for a thing tomorrow and would like to know before then,
Thank you.
The typical chocolate zucchini cake I’ve made for years was just NOT chocolatey enough. This one is FABULOUS! Since I live just west of Denver at an altitude of 5,459′, I made some adjustments. I upped the flour to 151 grams, decreased the sugar by 1 TAB, used 3 full eggs, and increased the temp to 365 degrees. It took about 38 minutes to cook. It was so yummy with just a bit of powdered sugar on top.
I did have a question. Since I used a very large zucchini, I spooned out the seeds before I grated. When do you weigh the zucchini…before or after you press out the moisture?
Can I freeze the chocolate zukini cake and hoe long thanks..