The Best Chocolate Zucchini Cake
Chocolate zucchini cake is not something to mess around with. You need the best chocolate zucchini cake recipe…and this is it!
We rolled into town last night after the kids and I spent a week in Montana with my parents (giving me the chance to attend a casual 20-year high school celebration with some old, wonderful friends and simultaneously laugh harder than I have in years and also feel really, really old).
The week was awesome! Driving all day and coming back to unpack and get back to real life…not awesome.
Among all the chores we are tackling today (whilst trying to manage positive attitudes…me included), the garden needed some serious TLC. Oooh boy, it isn’t pretty out there. Things are looking a little overgrown and although I had friends coming by to take whatever they wanted of the growing produce while we were gone, we still uncovered a few zucchini squashes the size of baseball bats.
When the plants are so enormously huge, even spreading apart the prickly stems and peering inside, it’s easy to miss those camouflaged beauties.
It’s total coincidence that I was planning on sharing with you the best ever zucchini chocolate cake today, but now that I have several giant-sized vegetables staring at me from my kitchen counter, it looks like I’ll be making this chocolate zucchini cake several times over before the week is done.
Good thing I’m bringing dinner to some friends because as much as I love me a good chocolate cake (and this is one of the best), even I get a little twitchy at the idea of trying to resist pans and pans of chocolate zucchini cake calling to me day after day.
Yeah, yeah. I know there are a million other things I can do with my zucchini (not the least of which are these healthier muffins and of course my go-to zucchini bread), but seriously, chocolate cake. Who can resist? Clearly not me.
This cake is a tried-and-true family favorite and has been for years and years. It’s from my Aunt Marilyn, and it is easily my Uncle Dan’s favorite chocolate cake of all time (and trust me, the guy loves chocolate cake even more than I do, which is pretty remarkable in and of itself).
There are at least 28 of my extended family members that love and swear by this cake. It’s a bit of a legend.
Amazingly light and fluffy, this zucchini cake is so moist and chocolatey. It’s what every cake should aspire to be like. I actually kind of feel bad for other cakes when I eat this chocolate zucchini cake. Can you blame them for wanting to be this?
One bowl, no mixer needed – simple as simple as can be! There’s nothing complicated about this cake and it still manages to be the best chocolate zucchini cake of all time. Take that fussy white layer cake that requires me to beat egg whites separately and make me want to beat my head against the kitchen counter (and yet I still can’t stop trying to perfect it).
My absolute favorite way to serve this cake is to nix classic chocolate frosting and use lightly sweetened chocolate whipped cream. Oh, baby. That pillowy, ethereal whipped cream is the perfect companion for this best ever chocolate zucchini cake.
The good news is that this cake is equally delicious eaten straight out of the pan with no extra adornments. I mean, not that I’d ever showcase that kind of lack of self-control. Digging in while the cake was warm and all that. No never, not me.
One Year Ago: Triple Chocolate Zucchini Cookies
Two Years Ago: Ginger Chicken and Asparagus Stir-Fry
Three Years Ago: Ebelskivers: Puffy Danish Pancakes
The Best Chocolate Zucchini Cake
Ingredients:
- 3 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups (11.25 ounces) granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup buttermilk (homemade version here)
- 1/2 cup melted coconut oil, avocado oil, canola oil or vegetable oil
- 2 cup shredded zucchini (10 ounces)
- 1 1/2 cup (7.5 ounces) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (2 ounces) natural, unsweetened cocoa powder
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch pan with cooking spray and set aside. I always use an aluminum/metal baking pan.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, vanilla, sugar, buttermilk and oil.
- Stir in the shredded zucchini.
- Add the flour, cocoa powder, salt, soda and baking powder.
- Stir until just combined and no dry streaks remain.
- Spread the batter evenly in the pan and bake for 25-35 minutes until the top springs back lightly to the touch and a toothpick comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.
- Let cool completely.
- Serve alone, with chocolate frosting or a dollop of lightly sweetened chocolate whipped cream (see note above).
Notes:
I don’t squeeze any excess liquid out of the zucchini for this recipe; however, previously frozen, shredded zucchini tends to be a bit more liquidy so if using thawed zucchini that’s been frozen, you might drain slightly.
This cake is delicious all by itself! But it’s also super tasty with chocolate frosting or my favorite, lightly sweetened chocolate whipped cream. For the cream, combine 1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream, 1/3 cup powdered sugar, 1/3 cup cocoa powder (Dutch-process cocoa powder is delicious here but you can use natural, unsweetened too), 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Whip until thick and creamy.
My Aunt Marilyn says this recipe works great in a bundt pan – bake for about 45-50 minutes.
Follow @melskitchencafe on Instagram and show me the recipes you are making from my blog using the hashtag #melskitchencafe. I love seeing all the goodness you are whipping up in your kitchens!
Recipe Source: adapted slightly from my Aunt Marilyn (I reduce the sugar from 2 cups to 1 1/2 cups, as well as reducing the oil a bit, and use buttermilk instead of milk)
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I added a Tbsp of espresso powder and made mini muffins with them. I piped on cream cheese icing and sprinkled with chocolate shavings and they were absolute amazing. My This recipe is dynamite! I am certainly going to try more of your recipes 🙂
Thanks, Lori! Glad you loved this recipe – thanks for detailing your changes!
Oh my word!!!!This is the best chocolate anything I ever ate! I’m in love!!! After the first delicious pan i’ve done some tweaking and have gotten to replacing all oil with apple sauce, and using 1 cup of whole wheat flour with 1/2 of a flour. Now I feel a bit better about how quickly we go through a pan
Over the top delicious especially with the Chocolate frosting. All came together quickly. I drained the zucchini out of habit and was still ok. I also used whole wheat pastry flour.
I was short a few ounces on powdered sugar when making the icing but was still thick creamy and delicious— died and gone to heaven delicious
Hi Mel, I made this in a bundt pan, it baked perfectly in 45 mins.
It was moist, delicious, and my little one who hates all things vegetable… gobbled it right up (not knowing there was zucchini in it). I’m not normally a ‘sweet’ person (I just love baking not eating it), and I couldn’t resist a few BIG bites of this cake. It was perfect!
Thank you so much for sharing all of your amazing recipes! You make me look like a rock-star in the kitchen. Forever grateful for finding your blog! 🙂
So happy to know this worked well for you in a bundt pan! Thanks, Grace!
I made it the first time and it was delicious the second time I made it I decided to use palm sugar instead of granulated sugar with the coconut oil added also about a fourth of a cup of coconut to the cake batter and then use cream cheese icing with toasted coconut and pecans. Both recipes came out terrifically wonderful delicious
Delicious variation!
I don’t prefer chocolate cake, nor does my husband but my 6 year old asked me to make him some so I did. This is the best chocolate cake I have tried to date. The texture is just right. It is moist and does not get gummy when you chew it. It also does not stick to your palate. Very enjoyable. I did not have buttermilk or milk to sour so I used organic non GMO soy milk. I also ran out of coconut oil so I had to use butter instead. Just to mix things up a bit I also used 1 cup of white flour, 1/4 cup whole wheat flour and 1/4 cup almond flour and reduced the sugar to 1 cup from 1 1/2. I cut some up and froze it for once a week school snacks. It’s probably healthier than some other snacks kids eat with the high iron from the cocoa and fibre from the flours and zucchini. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
I made this today, hoping to serve it for a family get together tonight. But it was so tasty, that the small group that was here this afternoon ate it right up! We added some semi sweet chocolate chips, and tested it with powdered sugar. Thanks for a perfect recipe!
I made this cake as written when it was first posted and it was awesome! I made it again yesterday and substituted all white whole wheat flour and upped the sugar to 2 cups. It was outstanding again–so moist, and I do admit, I loved the extra bit of sweetness, especially with the wheat flour. So delicious!
This turned out fantastic. My husband and son were VERY impressed. I used an aluminum pans and had to bake for an extra 10-ish minutes. I might suggest baking at 325° for longer than instructed to allow the inside to cook. I used fresh zucchini and didn’t drain, as suggested in the original recipe. I added a thin layer of simple, lightly sweetened fudge icing. Definitely a keeper!!!
Is there a way to make this gluten free by using your quinoa method in your other chocolate cake recipe?
That’s a great question – I’ve never tried it with this cake so you’d have to experiment. Good luck if you do!
I made this cake gluten-free and it was a hit! Thank you for sharing.
how did you make it gluten free?
It truly was the best. We topped it with dark chocolate chips which made it a real treat.
Hi Mel, I’ve followed your blog for a while and made some good things – thank you!
I decided to play fast and loose with your recipe – so I don’t deserve any sympathy – but any baking troubleshooting hints would be appreciated. For a start, I had a huge marrow to use – not at all wet, nice and fresh, probably slightly immature. I peeled it and sliced it thinly on a mandolin. I used half the sugar stated because I don’t like things too sweet. And the taste of the mixture pre-baking was really nice. I didn’t have a pan the same size as yours, so I improvised with a 7in. Springform . It may have been a little full. I cooked it for at least 45mins and it was springy and the skewer came out clean. It smelt great and I was longing to cut into it. I thought it would be a bit like a very fat brownie. In fact, the marrow didn’t break down too well, and the top half cooked fairly well but the lower half is heavy and doughy. I’ve cut it horizontally into two and it’s now a cake of two halves.
I’m inclined to blame the tin, the oven and (possibly) the low amount of sugar – oh and the dryness of the marrow maybe. And myself,
Anyway, you’ve sent me on a learning curve. And the mixture does taste lovely! I will probably repurpose some of it as a chocolate trifle!
Thanks again, your thoroughness and precision is appreciated (I must try to emulate it!)
Gill
Sorry this didn’t work out, Gill. Like you mentioned, I think the end result may be due mostly to the squash and the reduced sugar. Also baking in a different size pan may make the baked cake dry if it had to cook longer to compensate for a thicker cake. Hope you try it again!
Mel – whoever said this gets better after 2-3 days was so right! We are happily scoffing it down now – so anyone else who thinks theirs has all gone wrong, just wait a few days and try it again. Really good, moist (no longer rubbery and I don’t know why I was fussing about bits of unabsorbed marrow and the sweetness just right for us, and the chocolateyness). It also nicely used up some of that blinking marrow which is still taking up a lot of fridge space. Oh and I cooked the Italian rolls (using Biga) as well – also v popular, cheers, Mel (oh and am getting to grips with cup measures, although thank you for the ounce conversions – trans Atlantic problem!)
can you use butter instead of iol
Could definitely try!
Yum! My opinion is that this cake tastes even better the 2nd and 3rd day after making! I used coconut oil. One thing I will comment on is that the consistency of my batter was like water. It was SO runny. The only thing I can think of is that my zucchini had been picked 3 minutes before I made the cake, so it was probably extra juicy compared to one that had sat a bit. I should have went with my gut and squeezed it just a bit. I figured, no big deal, I’ll just add a little extra flour. I added enough to thicken up the batter just a bit. It was still quite thin, but it baked up great. And that chocolate whipped cream….oh my. A winner for sure!
Oh yes, and I did bake mine in a Bundt pan, and it was perfect in 35 minutes.
I love this recipe! I would love to figure out the ratios to make this a sheet cake. I doubled it, but had a lot leftover.
I love this recipe, it is so easy and delicous. THANKS MEL!!
Omitted the salt (as am cutting back), and everyone in the household felt the end cake tasted very salty. Disappointing.
Wow, LOVED this cake! Served it warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!!
I can’t stop eating this!! Yum!!!
This cake is delicious!
I have made this twice now and brought it to the Koch’s last weekend. Paul said after tasting it, “This has zucchini in it?!” I call it a win. I wanted a more stable whipped chocolate frosting so I took one package of instant chocolate pudding mix whisked in one cup of milk and then folded in a small tub of cool whip. The cake had to travel 7 hours in the cooler so frosting stability was a must. It was awesome!
This cake is amazing!! I’ve made it 3 times in two weeks and that’s saying a lot for be to be baking like that in the summer at 8 months pregnant! Thanks for another great one!
Proud to say I made good use out of my 750 pound zucchini today! This is my dream recipe…one bowl (no mess) and NO DRAINING ZUCCHINI!!!!! Heck yes. Also, I was out of white flour and it turned out beautifully using whole wheat flour. Thanks Mel my Bell
Loved loved loved this cake!! I’ve been cooking from your blog for years and have countless of favorites. After getting back from our Montana vacation (born and raised in the Bozeman area) I had to come home and put together a birthday party for my daughter. I made this cake so the adults had a good yummy cake to eat that wasn’t covered in rainbow skittles. Everyone loved it and my kids actually ended up gobbling up this cake post birthday party. Thanks for all your great recipes that are a staple in our home!
I made this for my mom’s birthday cake and it was delightful. I used a Bundt pan and the cocoa whipped cream was excellent on top. (The chocolate flavour of that whipped cream reminded me exactly of my favourite chocolate ice cream.) The small amount of leftovers were just as moist. Just reading the comment above– I forgot to follow the 45-50 min instructions even though using a Bundt pan and took mine out at about 33 minutes and it was definitely done, so I agree with your comment to take it out sooner.
I am still harvesting zucchini so I made this cake last night to share with friends in a post-theater gathering. I used white whole wheat flour in the recipe and baked it in a Bundt pan in a convection oven. For sure it was done at 40 minutes and I wished I’d checked it sooner, at 35 – so keep an eye on it no matter what Aunt Marilyn says about time, to make sure it doesn’t dry out. Anyway, this turned out very nicely (although not as moist as your pics show) and the cocoa whipped cream was a perfect touch. Everyone enjoyed it. I also enjoyed it (sans icing) for breakfast today. I like it better than the choc-zucc. cookies Mel!
Does this work as cupcakes?
I haven’t tried it but you could certainly experiment!
Hey! Did you try making this into cupcakes?
I haven’t yet!
My kids loved this cake, even the zucchini hater of the family. I served it with regular whipped creme since I had some on hand. It was delicious. We all loved it warm the best.
Hi Mel, I wanted to double check on the vanilla. Is 1 tablespoon correct? It seems like a lot for one cake.
Yep, the 1 tablespoon is correct.
Mel, I’m always looking for the best recipes and just when I think I have one after trying different ones several times I check your site and there it is…AGAIN!! I’m just going to your site first from now on. This zucchini cake was INSANE! It is everything you said t would be and more. The whipped topping was DANGEROUS. I could eat a bowl of it. And so simple and quick to make. Thank you thank you thank you!!
I love your recipes and always check your site when I have a question! I’m wanting to make a chocolate whipped cream for an ice cream cake I’m making and I remembered seeing one here. Now I see two — the one described in this recipe, and the one on the quinoa chocolate cake that uses chocolate chips with the whipping cream. Do you have a preference? Are the results similar? This one seems easier, but I do love melted chocolate and cream in all it’s forms (never tried it as whipped cream, but it makes a sweet ganache, fondue, or fudge sauce). Thanks!
I think this whipped chocolate cream is a bit less fussy than the other one – and equally as delicious!
Thanks! I’m sure it will not disappoint.
Is it possible to omit the cocoa powder for the cake?
No, I’m afraid not.
Delicious!! Delicious alone, delicious with the whipped cream, delicious with the leftover rainbow chip frosting sitting in the refrigerator. Glad I could use up some of the zucchini abundance from the garden. How does one plant yield so much?!?
It’s my 20 year high school reunion this August too! Unbelievable! And I’m still having babies. AHH!
Anyway, this looks gorgeous! We moved last fall and much to my disdain I have nowhere for a good garden in my new yard. I gambled and planted in what seems to be garden boxes but they are all in the shade and hardly anything has come up! My garden looks like it thinks it is still June! Zucchini was a total gong show but thankfully my mom is bringing me some this weekend.
Incidentally, I haven’t worked too much with it before. By shredded zucchini, do you mean we should process or grate it? Can I use the food processor to grate or would that obliterate it?
Hey Tara, good question on the grating. I use the large holes of my box grater or the food processor. Either works great – do you have a large shredding disc for the food processor (as opposed to a disc that would shred it super fine)? If so, I’d use that one.
Congrats on 20 years. 🙂 And on still having babies!
This cake is just as you promised – DELICIOUS!!! I used my food processor with the grating disc and it was perfect. I cut the zucchini in smaller pieces to fit in the feeder tube. It was perfect and saved time grating by hand.
So when I “assigned” myself (cuz that’s how I roll) to bring a dessert to a church meeting tonight it was a given that I would probably be making one of your recipes. Well, I knew this cake would be a winner when I read this was The BEST Chocolate Zuchhini Cake and that it came from your Aunt Marilyn. That and the fact that I have a plethora of zucchini in my garden. It was only AFTER pulling the cake out of the oven that I realized I COMPLETELY FORGOT to add the buttermilk (way too much multitasking today). As I was about to ditch the batch and start over, I decided to taste it and discovered nothing but pure joy with morsels of chocolate zucchini cake dancing around in my mouth! Pretty sure it was the chocolate chips that I added to the batter that helped save my near baking failure. And while my “mistaken” version turned out surprisingly delicious, although probably not as moist as your version, I can’t wait to make it again with the buttermilk. As a side note, I made these into cupcakes using my Demarle square muffin mold and piled them with your chocolate whipped cream (another bomb.com recipe). Thanks for your never ending and amazing recipes. My sister and I refer to you so often and as if you lived next door that we have resorted to just saying it’s from “Mel’s”.
What?? That’s amazing it worked out without the buttermilk. You don’t even need me in your life! 🙂
Mmm, totally the best way to eat the humble zucchini! Thanks for another great recipe. Have a wonderful day.
Fi
This looks very similar to a recipe I make. But I add some cloves and cinnamon. I’ve also gotten all crazy and added some garam Marsala in place of the cloves and cinnamon. A delicious twist!
Hi! This is my first attempt at using zucchini in a dessert… Do I peel the zucchini first and then grate it? Thanks!
Hi Marcie – I never peel my zucchini before shredding. Hope that helps! 🙂
Thanks, Mel! I made the cake today and it turned out delicious! I’ve never had a recipe of yours turn out bad which is why I was willing to give this a try (even though I was worried about having a weird texture in the cake!). Thanks for always being so reliable with fantastic recipes! 🙂
Mel, I’m at work and I think I need to leave right now and go home and make this cake!! Thank you for sharing!!
Hi Mel – in all of the times you have made this cake, have you ever attempted a gluten free version? Could you suggest any substitutions for the regular flour? I find that baked goods that have moist ingredients (like zucchini, pumpkin, etc) make the best gluten free version! Thanks!
Hey Heather – I haven’t made this gluten-free, sorry! Do you use the cup4cup or better batter blends ever? I hope I didn’t slaughter the names of those. But I’m guessing that a substitution like that would work fine but I’m not sure.
Oh my MEL!!!! This was so so yummy!! My girls were VERY skeptical about the giant zucchini I was grating, but after one bite, they were all digging in with a fork! The chocolate buttercream frosting was so divine! I doubled the recipe (remember the giant zucchini 😉 ) and it fit in a jelly roll pan, plus a half jelly roll pan…so we’ve got LOTS of cake to eat for breakfast too! Thanks for sharing!!!
This looks amazing considering that I have a ton of zucchini to use! On a side note, do we get a recap of your Africa trip soon!? Looking forward to hearing about that!!
Yes! Next week! 🙂
I was just thinking the same thing!
This looks yum! Do you suggest storing the cake room temperature or do you like it stored in the fridge? I plan to use your chocolate whipped cream. I take it you would just dollop that on slices rather than spreading on full cake?
It’s delicious at room temp or chilled, in my opinion, and yes, I just dollop a big spoonful of whipped cream on each piece (kind of like strawberry shortcake).
Yep, were definitely making this one…TODAY!
Made this today. My whipping cream was spoiled so I made chocolate fudge frosting instead. We had company for dinner and everyone loved it, even my kids who don’t normally like cake. I subbed almond milk for buttermilk so I could make some dairy-free cupcakes, too, and it was so good!
This is delicious! I served it with the chocolate whipped cream that you suggested, and a few blueberries on top. I ran out of all purpose flour so subbed white whole wheat flour for half of it. Couldn’t even tell there was ww flour in it! Thanks for the recipe!!
The whipped chocolate frosting is delicious! If I made it more might end up in my mouth than on the cake 🙂
This counts as a serving of vegetable, right?
Yep, it’s in the oven. Will report results!
Omg! HEAVENLY CAKE and the Chocolate whipped cream was great with it!
Great timing! I made this cake this afternoon and frosted it with your chocolate frosting recipe (because it’s Monday and we need to get through the week somehow!). I took a sneak piece and it’s amazing!
I can’t think of anything better to do with zucchini! This looks delicious and I would rush to make it except I’m out of cocoa powder. Thanks for another great recipe!
This looks amazing! Can I ask where you’re from? I don’t know any other food bloggers from Montana! I’m from the Bitterroot 🙂
Hi Annie – I went to high school in Montana (Billings) but now I live in southwestern Idaho.
Hey Annie, I am not a food blogger (personal blog with some food because I LOVE to cook), but I live between Bigfork and Kalispell on 8 plus wooded acres with my dog and cat.
Not sure looking at your blog if you are still in Montana…
Sadly I’m not, I certainly wish I was though! I moved to the Midwest after grad school and have been here for a few years now. My mom and brother are still in western Montana so I get home to visit as often as I can. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to living without mountains!
Sounds like you have a beautiful spot! I love the Kalispell area.
I’m in Kalispell! Nice to know there are other Mel’s fans in the valley 🙂
Hee – we have a little virtual MKC fan club in Flathead Valley!
I DID make this cake and as promised, it is the BEST and comes together way to fast. I made a full recipe: half baked as cupcakes (12) and half in cast iron loaf pan.
Hey girls, I am from Anaconda. I live in WA now, but my heart will always be in Montana.
This looks perfect!! And I have the end of summer lack of motivation too. Lol but I could make and eat this warm and cold.
So your aunt’s recipe uses milk instead of buttermilk, and it works fine? What’s the advantage to using buttermilk?
Hey Amanda – I think it makes the cake more moist and tender.
I swear by this cake! I keep grated zucchini in my freezer just to be able to make it all year!
This looks amazing! Which frosting is used in your photos? The choclolate frosting or chocolate whipped cream? Thanks for posting these today…I have tons of zucchini to use!
This sounds like something I need to try, as I have massive amounts of zucchini to use. Also, the idea of making cakes to give away is the best idea yet.