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Home Recipes Course Desserts Triple Chocolate Zucchini Cake
DF Dairy Free

Triple Chocolate Zucchini Cake

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Posted:9/14/18
Updated:6/21/21

Triple Chocolate Zucchini Cake! So chocolatey and no one will have a clue this cake is made with whole grain flour and dairy-free. We’re using a mix of applesauce and coconut oil to keep this cake a little lighter but still super moist! Add some chocolate chips and a 2-ingredient chocolate ganache to take this cake over the top. Chocolate lovers rejoice!

“Who are you kidding? Girls can’t play softball!”

“What did you say?”

“I said girls can’t play softball.”

.

.

.
One of my favorite scenes from one of my favorite movies… Hopefully you’re not completely lost but in case you are, we’re talking about the movie Now and Then. My sisters and I watched it the other weekend when we all got together. I can’t remember the last time I watched it from start to finish, but I still know every line. It’s funny watching Now and Then now compared to when I was younger. I don’t think I realized until after watching just recently how much that movie shaped my views on women and friendships.

Because of that movie I was 1. all about girls playing sports with the boys and 2. getting into fights for my friends.

Okay, I didn’t get into any physical fist fights but I do recall chasing a boy into the bathroom after he made fun of my BFF. I was only 10 or 11, but clearly knew what it meant to stick up for your friends, much thanks to Now and Then.

The movie also gave me my favorite song of all time, “I Want You Back” by Jackson 5 (mainly because my favorite scene was the softball fight scene, obviously. #TeamRoberta).

But seriously, I used to know the ENTIRE soundtrack of Now and Then from start to finish, front to back. Does anyone else know it? I can still picture the yellow cover with the film strip. During our summer camping trips my older sister and I would listen to it over and over again on our Walkman (yes, our Sony Walkman) while making friendship bracelets. For a good two weeks straight. GOOD TIMES.

Triple Chocolate Zucchini Cake

cut chocolate zucchini bundt cake

Well now that I’ve just taken us on a little trip down memory lane I SUPPOSE we can talk about this chocolate zucchini cake.

If we must.

I’m actually pretty pumped about this cake because it’s made with a mix of what one may call “healthier” ingredients but it tastes freakin’ phenomenal. Ugh I just love it when that happens! It’s whole wheat, dairy-free, and I also cut down on the oil a little bit by using more applesauce. Oh and there is a boat load <— technical term of zucchini in it! Because when you add vegetables to baked goods it pretty much automatically makes them healthy, right?

Okay, not necessarily but you know what I mean.

What you need

  • whole white flour
  • unsweeteend cocoa powder
  • baking soda
  • baking powder
  • salt
  • cinnamon (optional but adds nice flavor!)
  • eggs
  • coconut oil
  • applesauce
  • non-dairy milk
  • vanilla
  • granulated sugar
  • zucchini
  • chocolate chips

It looks like a lot but really just your standard cake ingredients. And you can mix everything by hand with no fancy equipment required.

How the Cake is Made

spiced chocolate zucchini cake process

You’ll need to mix your wet ingredients in one bowl and your dry ingredients in another bowl before combining together. Yes we have to dirty another bowl but just trust me on this one. 🙂

Then you fold in the shredded zucchini and chocolate chips and pour the batter into a greased bundt or 9″ square cake pan, baking for about 40 minutes.

chocolate zucchini cake on cooling rack with bundt pan

SOME KEY TIPS:

  • Because we’re using liquid coconut oil, you’re going to want to make sure your ingredients are at room temperature. If you mix cold ingredients like the eggs and milk with the coconut oil, the oil will solidify and that is no good! So I suggest getting out all of your ingredients about 30 minutes before hand to allow them time to come to room temperature. Note: You can sub another oil if you’d like.
  • Watch your baking time. Chocolate cakes are sometimes hard to tell whether they’re done or not, so definitely do the toothpick test in multiple areas. The cake should be ready when the toothpick comes out clean.
  • If using a bundt pan, grease very well! You want to make sure your cake comes out all pretty on top, which is the bottom of the pan 🙂
bundt cake chocolate zucchini cake on cooling rack with whisk

Oh my word I almost forgot about the CHOCOLATE GANACHE FROSTING.

Once the cake has cooled all that’s left to do is melt chocolate chips with some cream over the stove top until smooth. (I actually used almond milk creamer, but full-fat canned coconut milk also works. And if you’re not dairy-free, heavy cream is fine too!) Then pour on the chocolate ganache frosting and let it set.

piece of chocolate zucchini cake on plate with dessert fork

Whoever decided to hide zucchini in chocolate cake is a straight-up genius.

chocolate cake pieces on plate with dessert fork

Let me know if you make this recipe by leaving a comment and rating below! It helps others learn more about the recipe too! Xx, Ashley

★★★★★

4.9 from 9 reviews

How to Make…

Healthier Triple Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Triple Chocolate Zucchini Cake! Made with a mix of applesauce and coconut oil to keep this cake a little lighter but still super moist. Add some chocolate chips and a 2-ingredient chocolate ganache to take this cake over the top. Whole grain and dairy-free friendly.

  • Prep Time: 10 mins
  • Cook Time: 45 mins
  • Total Time: 55 mins
  • Yield: 12 1x
  • Scale:
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Ingredients

dry ingredients:

  • 1 3/4 cups whole wheat white flour or whole wheat pastry flour
  • 3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder (or cacao)
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)

wet ingredients:

  • 2 large eggs, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted and cooled (or sub another oil)
  • 3/4 cup applesauce, room temperature
  • 1/3 cup non-dairy milk**, room temperature
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3/4 cup coconut sugar (or brown sugar)
  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar (beet, cane, etc.)
  • 2 1/2 cups shredded zucchini, about 2 medium
  • 3/4 cup semi-sweet dairy-free chocolate chips
  •  
  • for the ganache frosting:
  • 1 cup dairy-free dark chocolate chips
  • 1/4 cup almond milk creamer*** (or coconut milk)

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350F, grease a bundt pan very well with coconut oil, set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl whisk together all dry ingredients, flour through cinnamon; set aside.
  3. In a large bowl gently whisk together eggs, applesauce, melted coconut oil, milk and vanilla until combined. Add in sugars and whisk again until smooth.
  4. Using large rubber spatula, gently add dry ingredients into large bowl of wet ingredients until almost combined. Fold in zucchini and chocolate chips until evenly dispersed. Batter should be fairly thick.
  5. Pour batter into greased bundt pan and bake for 35-45 minutes, or until inserted toothpick comes out with no wet batter. You can also move the rack and pan up a level to prevent the top of the cake from browning too much.
  6. Gently flip cake out of pan and transfer to cooling rack (Gently bang pan on counter top, place rack over top of pan, and flip down).
  7. While the cake cools, melt chocolate chips and cream together on medium low heat in a small saucepan, stirring frequently until fully melted and smooth. Place plate or baking sheet under rack, pour chocolate over cake and spread evenly.
  8. Allow frosting to set for about 30 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Recipes Notes:

* May sub half whole wheat flour and half unbleached all-purpose flour **Any milk will work. *** I used a vanilla almond milk creamer because that is what I had on hand. Feel free to use canned coconut milk, coconut milk creamer, or even regular cream if not dairy-free. But I definitely suggest using cream with fat. Cover leftovers or store cake in airtight container. Cake may also be stored in fridge and should keep about 5 days.

Nutrition Information:

  • Serving Size: 1 piece
  • Calories: 352
  • Sugar: 40
  • Sodium: 24
  • Fat: 19
  • Saturated Fat: 13
  • Unsaturated Fat: 1
  • Trans Fat: 0
  • Carbohydrates: 44
  • Fiber: 2
  • Protein: 3
  • Cholesterol: 31
Category: Dessert
Keywords: chocolate bundt cake, zucchini cake, healthier chocolate cake
Author: Ashley @ Fit Mitten Kitchen

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Tools used

large bundt pan

glass mixing bowls

large rubber spatula

How about you?

  • What is your favorite movie you could watch over and over again?
  • Hands down favorite song?
  • Are there any movies you watched growing up that had an impact on your values today? Okay, maybe forget about the fist fighting part, but there is something to be said about the value of friendship.

NOTE: This post contains affiliate links. When you click on the link and make a purchase, I may get credit for the sale. Please note that purchasing products this way is at no extra cost to you. I only supply links for products and/or services I truly believe in, and feel would be helpful to you as well. Using an affiliate program helps cover some costs, so thank you in advance for your support!

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About Ashley

"Ashley Walterhouse is the founder of Fit Mitten Kitchen, based in the Greater Lansing Area of Michigan, AKA “the Mitten.” Ashley grew up as a picky eater but later discovered that eating healthy was actually easy and fun. She started FMK in 2015 as a way to share her newfound love of developing healthier recipes for all to enjoy."

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Reader Interactions

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  1. Devyani Upadhyaya says

    12/3/2018 at 10:46 pm

    Heyy…I tried making this recipe yesterday but I switched out the sugars for a maple syrup and agave combination. I wanted to ask if you are meant to squeeze out the water from the zucchini before mixing it in? The outside layer of my cake had a nice texture but the inside was quite mushy. Any suggestions to improve it?

    Reply
    • Ashley says

      12/7/2018 at 12:10 pm

      Hi there, the zucchini shouldn’t have to be squeezed out here, but because you used a liquid sweetener instead of a dry granulated sweetener, that probably caused the cake batter to be too wet. Dry sweeteners and liquid sweeteners aren’t a 1:1 sub and changes the ratio of the other ingredients needed. Even if you squeezed out the zucchini and still used a combination of agave and maple syrup, I think other changes would need to be made to the ratio of dry-wet ingredients.

      Reply
  2. Michelle says

    8/29/2019 at 11:59 am

    So good! A hit with the family.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Ashley says

      8/30/2019 at 9:17 am

      Yay! <3 Thanks, Michelle!

      Reply
  3. Jody Styer says

    10/8/2019 at 8:33 am

    This recipe was AMAZING!!! A chocolate LOVERS DREAM!!!! Easy to follow recipe, EXCELLENT Dark Chocolate Flavor! and it was a WOW with EVERYONE who ate it!!! We were sad there weren’t more slices in this cake!!! I followed it but used Signature Dark Chocolate Chips from Nestle 61% dark chips and It was FABULOUS!!!! Also used milk (Lactaid) recipe worked out fine! We did not use the cinnamon as it is not something we prefer. Thank you for such a WINNING recipe!!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Ashley says

      10/13/2019 at 1:40 pm

      So glad you and others enjoyed, Jody! Thank you so much for your 5 star review! 😀

      Reply
  4. Mindful Mama says

    8/16/2020 at 8:40 pm

    This is by far my favorite chocolate zucchini cake. I swapped out the 3/4 cup sugar for 1/4 cup organic unbleached sugar + 1/2 cup crystalized monkfruit (Lakanto). It came out perfect! My family of 4 ate the entire bundt cake in less than 24 hours.

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Ashley says

      8/24/2020 at 5:23 pm

      So glad it was enjoyed! Thanks for sharing your subs!

      Reply
  5. Andrea says

    8/21/2020 at 10:21 pm

    Made this yesterday with my youngest, so moist and delicious! Both of my littles couldn’t believe there was zuchini in it! ?
    And my husband said it was the best cake we’ve made! Win for veggies and treats!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
    • Ashley says

      8/24/2020 at 5:19 pm

      Lol amazing! So glad it was enjoyed by all 🙂

      Reply
  6. Karin says

    2/26/2022 at 12:53 pm

    Can you use more applesauce instead of oil

    Reply
    • Ashley says

      3/5/2022 at 2:00 pm

      You could probably sub a little more but I wouldn’t substitute all of the oil here. I would keep 1/3 cup of oil and then you could do a few more tablespoons applesauce. I haven’t tested this but it should turn out fairly similar.

      Reply
    • Jody says

      3/9/2022 at 10:17 pm

      You sure can! I cut out all the oil and used 1 1/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce. It is beyond AMAZING!!! I also add 1 teaspoon of dry espresso powder. It enhances the chocolate experience and makes it more DIVINE!! The time for cooking is slightly longer – 55-65 minutes use a cake tester until it comes out clean. Good luck – This cake is AMAZING!!

      Reply
  7. Jody says

    3/9/2022 at 10:11 pm

    So, I tweeked the recipe causing it to become even healthier and absolutely a life changing eating experience!! I took out the oil and substituted 1 1/4 Cup unsweetened applesauce. No coconut oil at all. I also am able to cut between 17 -19 generous pieces. I also add 1 teaspoon of instant espresso powder. This heightens the dark chocolate richness and delicious flavor. Who knew!! Complete success 🙌 – Bake time is usually 55-65 minutes until my tester comes out clean. When it has cooled I turn it out onto a flat cookie sheet. I make the ganache icing and spread it over the cake. I place the cake into the freezer after frozen, I remove and mark my cut marks into the icing. I use a sharp knife and slice. I plate and wrap and refreeze. Thank you so much for this super star cake! SUPERIOR 5 STARS!!

    ★★★★★

    Reply
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