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
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
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.
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 🙂
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.
Whoever decided to hide zucchini in chocolate cake is a straight-up genius.
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
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
- Preheat oven to 350F, grease a bundt pan very well with coconut oil, set aside.
- In a medium bowl whisk together all dry ingredients, flour through cinnamon; set aside.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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).
- 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.
- 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.
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.
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Devyani Upadhyaya says
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?
Ashley says
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.
Michelle says
So good! A hit with the family.
★★★★★
Ashley says
Yay! <3 Thanks, Michelle!