How to make zucchini chocolate cake
The summer days are getting slightly cooler, and I’ve even occasionally had to pull on a sweater uggs (can you believe it!). The slightly cooler days signify the summer harvest is nearing its peak, and our zucchini plants giving us basketfuls of produce every morning. I always plant loads of zucchini plants, even though we wind up having a ridiculous number of zucchini’s, as I love them so much! They are such versatile vegetable. I have so much fun thinking of different ways to cook them. I use them in curries and stir fries, sauteed slightly in omelets sprinkled with fetta for breakfast, nurtured with middle eastern spices in fritters – the list goes on!
Today’s zucchini creation is a beautifully moist zucchini chocolate cake recipe that is soft and moreish. Another fantastic zucchini recipe that uses the summer glut of zucchini coming out of the garden. This zucchini cake recipe is simple to make, dark and chocolatey without being too rich. I like to make a double batch, divide the mixture into two, leave one cake ‘as is’ and add chopped walnuts to one half of the mixture.
To add a touch of decadence try topping this cake with my not too sweet buttercream icing recipe (the chocolate version), or the coffee version is amaaaazing on this cake too.
Enjoy, much love xx!
Tips to baking chocolate zucchini cake
- No you don’t need to peel zucchini before you grate (shred) it for using it in cakes or baking.
- If your zucchini cake is dry, the moisture content in the flour might be very low. If you notice that the mixture is becoming thicker as you stir it, add either another cup of shredded zucchini, or 1 cup of yoghurt or full cream milk.
Zucchini chocolate cake
Ingredients
- 125 grams butter softened
- 1 ⅔ cups plain all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ cups white sugar
- ⅔ cup cocoa powder
- 1 ½ teaspoon bicarb soda
- 2 cups grated zucchini densely packed
- 2 eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract or vanilla essence
- 1 cup of chopped walnuts optional
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl combine softened butter, sugar and vanilla. Beat until combined.
- Scraping down the sides of the bowl, to the butter and sugar mixture add the grated zucchini, cocoa powder and eggs, beat until just combined. Don’t worry if the mixture looks like it has ‘split’ (curdled), it will come back together once the flour has been added.
- Add the flour and bicarb to the mixing bowl. I find the flour ‘poofs’ out of the mixing bowl less if I gently fold the though the wet mixture using a spatula before I beat the mixture using the stand mixer. Beat until just combined. Be careful not to over beat, or the cake will ‘peak’ and have large cracks in the top (this is because over beating develops the gluten fibers in the flour and makes the mixture elastic rather than having a nice ‘crumb’).’
- If you’re adding chopped walnuts, stir them through now.
- Pour mixture into a lined cake tin (25cm), or equivalent loaf tin.
- Bake in a moderate oven (180°C) for 50 minutes, or until you can insert a skewer, and it comes out clean and the cake bounces back if gently pressed.
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