Chocolate (Zucchini) Cake
Is your garden still going gangbusters with zucchini? If you don’t have your own backyard zucchini supply, chances are you can find them locally and cheap at every grocery and roadside stand. Or befriend a neighbor with a garden. I’m sure they’d be more than happy to share their abundance!
Then get in the kitchen and whip up this amazingly chocolatey cake. When I created this recipe, I was going for brownies, but it turned out more like cake and so we just went with it. If you really want to gild the lily, you could make some sort of frosting, but I really don’t think this cake needs it. It’s delicious and flavorful and moist as is. Plus, without frosting, it’s easier to take to picnics, school functions, potlucks, etc.
And unless you tell them, no one will guess there are three cups of a vegetable in your cake! They’ll just beg for the recipe!
Chocolate (Zucchini) Cake
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup avocado oil
- 1 1/2 cups granulate sugar can substitute maple or coconut sugar but the flavor will be significantly different
- 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose gluten free flour recipe tested with King Arthur Brand
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 3 cups shredded zucchini, undrained pack it lightly into the measuring cup
- 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips, optional I prefer Enjoy Life brand for dairy free
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×13 baking pan and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the granulated sugar, oil and vanilla. Whisk to combine well.
- To the same bowl, add the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Mix this well. It will be very dry.
- Now fold in the zucchini. The mixture will still be very dry, but just wait. Allow the cake batter to sit for up to 10 minutes. Moisture will be released from the zucchini and eventually, you will have a lovely cake batter!
- Once the batter is thinned out a bit, mix in the chocolate chips. Spread the mixture evenly into prepared pan. Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean and the top of the cake has a slightly dry and cracked appearance.
- This cake is so moist, I find that it keeps best in the refrigerator. Enjoy!
