This chocolate zucchini cake is so chocolatey, so moist, and so flavorful, you’ll never taste the zucchini (seriously!). I top mine with an indulgent chocolate cream cheese frosting that’s simple and not-too-sweet. Recipe includes a how-to video!
Incredible Chocolate Zucchini Cake
“Your chocolate zucchini cake needs tweaking.” My mom said to me, scraping the last few fudgy crumbs from her plate onto her fork.
“What? What’s wrong with it!?” All of my other taste-testers had raved about this recipe and I’d already marked it down as being perfected. I was in love with the rich fudginess, the deep, decadent chocolate taste and perfectly balanced moisture, the ✨perfectly✨ complementary chocolate cream cheese frosting, and honestly I was just stunned that she wasn’t.
“Oh, it’s delicious, it’s so good.” She cut another slice. “But I can’t taste the zucchini at all. Not even a little bit.” A wave of relief washed over me immediately.
While my mother might disagree, you are not supposed to taste the zucchini in a zucchini dessert (or zucchini bread for that matter)! No, its purpose is to impart moisture, create a lovely texture, use up a surplus of (typically ridiculously large and prolific) garden squash, and, sure, even to sneak a healthy component to an otherwise indulgent treat. This recipe ticks all the boxes and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t patting myself on the back after trying my first bite.
Why you’ll love it:
- Amazing crumb: Moist, without being wet or spongey (sometimes a tricky feat when adding shredded veggies to cake). The crumb is deliriously chocolatey, tender, melt-in-your mouth and so soft.
- Easy: No peeling the zucchini, no mixer needed for the cake, and no stacking, layering, or fussy decorating required.
- Incredible chocolate flavor: Blooming the cocoa by mixing it in steaming hot water (or hot coffee) intensifies the chocolate flavor (so helpful when making chocolate cake!).
- Perfect frosting: So far, every single person who has tried this cake has proceeded to rave about the frosting! It’s subtly tangy, smooth and creamy. I originally considered doing a simple ganache topping, but the chocolate cream cheese frosting complements the zucchini much better.
I’m so happy with how this cake turned out. It’s adapted from my chocolate zucchini muffins and double chocolate muffins, and the flavor is incredible. I promise no one will know there is zucchini inside (which is the whole point of the recipe–more on this below!).
What You Need
There are quite a few ingredients pictured below, but all but a few are pantry staples most bakers will already have on hand. Let’s talk a bit about a few of them.
- Zucchini. There is no need to peel your zucchini before shredding it–yay! Make sure you do blot it after shredding though–we want to avoid adding too much moisture to our cake.
- Sour cream. A key source of moisture, flavor, and tenderness! Sour cream is one of my favorite ingredients to bake with. Full-fat plain greek yogurt would also work just fine here.
- Cocoa powder. Stick with natural cocoa powder here, as dutch process cocoa could cause leavening issues since we are using only baking soda. If you want to learn more about the science behind this, check out my posts on natural vs. dutch process cocoa and baking powder vs. baking soda.
- Hot water. Your water should be so hot it’s steaming (or boiling!). This is critical for blooming the cocoa powder and bringing out its flavor, similar to steeping tea or brewing coffee.
- Mini chocolate chips. A sprinkle of mini chocolate chips on top of the frosting adds a nice texture. You could also throw some chocolate chips in the batter (up to a cup), but there’s enough chocolate going on here that it’s not really necessary.
SAM’S TIP: If you’d really like to deepen the chocolate flavor, add a pinch of instant coffee or espresso to your cocoa powder and hot water mixture! This won’t make your cake taste like coffee, but it will intensify the chocolate flavor.
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Chocolate Zucchini Cake
Prep the Zucchini
- Shred the zucchini using the shred blade of a food processor, then (optional, see below) very briefly pulse to chop the shreds into more manageable bits.
- Blot the zucchini with paper towels to remove excess moisture. I do this step after measuring/weighing the zucchini. While not all recipes require the zucchini to be blotted, I find that not blotting it made this cake too wet.
SAM’S TIP: While you could use a box grater, I personally like using my food processor to shred my zucchini. Much like the carrots in my carrot cake, I first use the shred blade, then switch to a normal blade to briefly pulse the zucchini into smaller bits. If you do this too, be careful not to pulse too much, or you could make the zucchini watery. Of course, you could also skip this extra step and just use the hand grater, just note you may have more discernible pieces of zucchini in your cake.
Make the Cake Batter
- Whisk together all dry ingredients except the cocoa powder, then set aside.
- Add the cocoa powder to the very hot water and whisk until smooth, then stir this mixture into your melted butter.
- Add the sour cream, eggs, and vanilla to the butter mixture and stir well to combine.
- Gently fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until halfway combined, then add the zucchini. Fold in the zucchini until fully incorporated.
- Pour the batter into a greased 9×13 pan and bake for 33-35 minutes at 350F.
- Test for doneness with a toothpick, then remove from the oven and let cool completely before frosting.
Frosting
- Prepare the frosting and spread it evenly over the cooled cake.
- Top with mini chocolate chips, if desired, then slice and enjoy!
SAM’S TIP: While you can use a mixer for the frosting, don’t use it for the cake batter! If you do, you could end up over-mixing the batter, which can lead to a dense, rubbery cake.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nope! The point of a zucchini baked good recipe is not to taste the zucchini; it’s to use up garden produce in a practical way. Baked goods are a great way to do this because the zucchini adds a ton of moisture but is neutrally flavored, so it doesn’t make your dessert taste like you’re eating vegetables.
If you need it to last longer than a day or two, yes. I recommend refrigerating after 24 hours and enjoying within five days of baking. Make sure to store in an airtight container so it doesn’t dry out in the fridge.
Sure! Chocolate ganache, peanut butter frosting, raspberry frosting, brown butter frosting, coffee frosting, and salted caramel frosting would all be great choices here. Also, if you’re a frosting fiend like me, check out my 7 classic frosting recipes email series!
Would you like to see any other zucchini recipes? I’ve got one more coming later this month that I’m very excited to share!
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! Find over 500 of my baking videos for FREE on YouTube.
Chocolate Zucchini Cake
Ingredients
For Cake
- 2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar firmly packed
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- ½ cup (50 g) natural cocoa powder
- ½ cup (118 ml) steaming hot or boiling water
- 10 Tablespoons (141 g) melted butter
- 1 cup (240 g) sour cream
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups (200 g) shredded zucchini I pat dry with a paper towel after weighing/measuring
For Frosting
- 8 oz (226 g) cream cheese softened
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter softened
- 2 ½ cups (315 g) powdered sugar
- ⅓ cup (35 g) cocoa powder
- ¾ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon table salt
- 2 Tablespoons mini chocolate chips for topping optional
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
For Cake
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and lightly grease a 9×13 baking dish with butter.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugars, baking soda, and salt until well-combined.2 cups (250 g) all-purpose flour, 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar, 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda, ½ teaspoon table salt
- Pour cocoa powder into a separate, heatproof mixing bowl and then pour hot/boiling water overtop. Whisk until smooth.½ cup (50 g) natural cocoa powder, ½ cup (118 ml) steaming hot or boiling water
- Add butter and whisk until combined.10 Tablespoons (141 g) melted butter
- Add sour cream, egg, and vanilla extract and whisk well.1 cup (240 g) sour cream, 2 large eggs, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Add dry ingredients to the wet and use a spatula to gently fold ingredients together until about halfway combined. Add zucchini and continue to stir until ingredients are well incorporated and batter is uniform – do not overmix or cake will be dense and dry.1 ½ cups (200 g) shredded zucchini
- Spread batter evenly into prepared pan and transfer to center rack of 350F (175C) oven and bake for 33-35 minutes and until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean or with moist crumbs. Allow cake to cool completely before covering with frosting.
For Frosting
- Combine cream cheese and butter in a mixing bowl and stir until smooth and creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar and stir until combined.8 oz (226 g) cream cheese, ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, 2 ½ cups (315 g) powdered sugar
- Stir in cocoa powder.⅓ cup (35 g) cocoa powder
- Add vanilla extract and salt and stir until smooth and well combined.¾ teaspoon vanilla extract, ⅛ teaspoon table salt
- Spread frosting evenly over cooled cake (I ice it directly in the pan) then sprinkle with mini chocolate chips for decoration. Slice and enjoy.2 Tablespoons mini chocolate chips for topping
Notes
Storing
Cover with foil or plastic wrap and store at room temperature for up to 24 hours or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Cake may also be frozen for several months.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Eli
This cake is absolutely delicious! I followed the recipe as written (just cut in half for my lowly 8 x 8″ pan-23 minutes convection oven time). I used a box grater because, with my skill set, I was afraid of making zucchini pesto, haha, and there was no trace of them in the batter, much to the delight of my veggie-phobic grandson. 😉 O, the frosting… too much taste-testing! Thank you for this incredible recipe. It’s a keeper.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Eli! 🙂
Marzeedotes
I have no words to describe how good this cake tastes. Even without the frosting it is delicious and then you add that velvety goodness on top and wow! Over the top! Thanks for the great recipe.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much! 🙂
El
This is an awesome recipe!! YUM! I am making it again for the weekend
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
So glad you are enjoying it, El! 🥰
Janice
I love this recipe! I do use coffee to bloom the cocoa and I add a bit of cayenne pepper for some zing. Delicious!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Yum, love that idea! Enjoy, Janice 🩷