Super moist and indulgent chocolate zucchini cake is studded with chocolate chips and topped with chocolate fudge frosting. Made with three cups of shredded zucchini (you can’t taste it!), this is the most decadent way to eat your greens.
Today, we have a triple dose of chocolate in the form of luxuriously rich chocolate zucchini cake. No, you can’t taste the zucchini. No, you can’t see the zucchini. Yes, it’s unbelievably delicious and I’m showing you exactly how to make it! Zucchini recipes have never been more decadent than this one 🙂
Chocolate Zucchini Cake Video Tutorial
Can you just look at how rich and moist this cake is? It tastes even better than it looks, I swear. The real secret behind it are the hidden vegetables inside. If you’re one who believes these veggies should only be in zucchini casserole or zucchini fritters, and have nothing to do with dessert, keep an open mind. Carrot cake, anyone?!
Why You’ll Love This Chocolate Zucchini Cake
- Just as loved as my chocolate cake
- Super moist and rich with mega chocolate flavor
- Easy to make
- Uses up summer zucchini
- 3 cups of vegetables hiding inside—you don’t even taste it!
- Covered in chocolate buttercream
Overview: Chocolate Zucchini Cake Ingredients
This decadent cake is made with fresh summer zucchini and pantry basics. Did you know that cocoa powder can dry out baked goods much more than flour? To compensate for this, we ensure there’s plenty of added moisture in the cake batter. Let’s review:
- Flour: Sturdy all-purpose flour is the base of this cake recipe. Do not use cake flour—when combined with ultra-light cocoa powder, cake flour is too fine.
- Unsweetened Natural Cocoa Powder: Cocoa powder takes the place of some flour. Just as in my regular chocolate cake recipe, make sure you’re using natural unsweetened cocoa powder instead of dutch-process cocoa powder. If you’re interested, see dutch-process vs natural cocoa powder for an in-depth explanation.
- Baking Soda & Baking Powder: Remember my lesson on baking soda vs baking powder? We use both here for lift.
- Espresso Powder: Espresso powder accentuates the chocolate flavor. While optional, I highly recommend using it. The chocolate zucchini cake won’t taste like coffee. Rather, the espresso powder helps bring out the intense chocolate flavor. We use it in chocolate zucchini bread also.
- Salt: Salt balances the flavor.
- Oil: Oil adds moisture. You can try replacing *some* of the oil with unsweetened applesauce. I’ve done this with chocolate cakes and muffins and the result is wonderful, but I don’t recommend replacing all of it. Regardless of the zucchini inside, this isn’t health food, it’s dessert. Don’t make it something it’s not! 🙂
- Sugar: We’ll use a combination of brown sugar and white granulated sugar. Brown sugar not only provides moisture, but flavor as well.
- Eggs: 4 eggs bind everything together and add moisture. Remember room temperature ingredients are important.
- Sour Cream: Just like in chocolate peanut butter cake, you can use sour cream or plain yogurt. Either add moisture.
- Vanilla Extract: Pure vanilla extract adds flavor.
- Zucchini: There are a whopping 3 cups of shredded zucchini in this recipe. Testing how much we can get away with… without actually tasting it! Zucchini is pure magic in cakes—nothing but flavorless moisture. Same goes with my zucchini bread and zucchini muffins, too!
- Chocolate Chips: For mega chocolate flavor, add chocolate chips to the batter. They’re key to those melty pockets of chocolate in each slice. I use semi-sweet chocolate chips, but mini chocolate chips or even dark chocolate chips would pair wonderfully. Whichever kind of chocolate chips you enjoy in your chocolate chip cookies, you’ll enjoy here, too.
Overview: How to Make Chocolate Zucchini Cake
This chocolate zucchini cake comes together quickly and easily, just like my regular zucchini cake! Simply whisk the dry ingredients in one bowl and beat the wet ingredients together in another bowl. Combine the wet and dry ingredients, then add the chocolate chips. The cake batter will be slightly thick thanks to all of the zucchini! Divide the batter between two 9-inch cake pans or you can make a quarter sheet cake using a 9×13 inch cake pan. See my recipe notes for details.
- Need cupcakes instead? This recipe yields about 24-30 cupcakes. See recipe note. Just as decadent and delicious as my regular chocolate cupcakes!
Chocolate Frosting
We’re topping and filling this chocolate zucchini cake with smooth, silky, and creamy chocolate buttercream. We’re using my favorite chocolate buttercream recipe, but increasing the quantity. We do this for my regular chocolate cake, too. If you would rather top this cake with vanilla frosting, use the vanilla frosting included in my white cake recipe. Regardless of which you choose, you’ll have enough frosting to frost the entire layer cake AND a little leftover for some fun piping on top. Decorate however you’d like! I used Ateco #30 tip for the piping.
Deep, dark, luxuriously rich, crazy moist, and weirdly loaded with vegetables that you absolutely can’t taste. After one bite you’ll be convinced this is the best way to eat your veggies! You’ll love my zucchini oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, too.
More Chocolate Recipes
- Chocolate Lava Cakes
- Flourless Chocolate Cake
- Chocolate Cake
- Chocolate Cupcakes
- Homemade Brownies
- Inside Out Chocolate Chip Cookies & Double Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate Zucchini Cake
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours, 30 minutes
- Yield: serves 10-12
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This super rich and moist chocolate zucchini cake is topped with milk chocolate fudge frosting- you won’t even taste the vegetables!
Ingredients
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 3/4 cup (62g) unsweetened natural cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (240ml) canola or vegetable oil
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup (150g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup (80g) sour cream or plain yogurt, at room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 3 cups (about 360g) shredded zucchini (lightly blotted & see recipe Note*) (2 medium zucchini, about 3/4–1 lb.)
- 1 cup (180g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- chocolate frosting or vanilla frosting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease two 9-inch round cake pans, line with parchment paper rounds, then grease the parchment paper. Parchment paper helps the cakes seamlessly release from the pans. (If it’s helpful, see this parchment paper rounds for cakes video & post.)
- Make the cake: Whisk the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, espresso powder (if using), and salt together in a large bowl. In another large bowl using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, sour cream, vanilla, and zucchini together until combined. Pour into dry ingredients and beat on medium speed until completely combined. Beat in the chocolate chips. Batter will be slightly thick.
- Pour batter evenly into cake pans. Bake for around 25-32 minutes or until the cakes are baked through. To test for doneness, insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, it is done. Allow cakes to cool completely in the pans set on a wire rack. The cakes must be completely cool before frosting and assembling.
- Assemble and frost: First, using a large serrated knife, slice a thin layer off the tops of the cakes to create a flat surface. Discard (or crumble over ice cream!). Place 1 cake layer on your cake stand, cake turntable, or serving plate. Evenly cover the top with frosting. Top with 2nd layer and spread the remaining frosting all over the top and sides. Pipe any leftover frosting on top. (I used Ateco #30 tip.) Decorate with chocolate sprinkles or mini chocolate chips if desired. Slice and serve.
- Cover any leftover cake and store at room temperature for 2-3 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: Prepare cakes and frosting 1 day in advance. Keep cakes at room temperature, covered tightly. Refrigerate prepared frosting in an airtight container, then bring to room temperature when ready to use. Frosted or unfrosted cakes may be frozen up to 2 months, thaw overnight in the refrigerator and bring to room temperature, if desired, before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Box Grater | Glass Mixing Bowls | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | 9-inch Round Cake Pan | Cake Turntable | #30 Ateco Closed Star Tip | Piping Bag (Reusable or Disposable) |
- Blot the Zucchini: Give the shredded zucchini a very light blotting with a towel. Don’t squeeze too much moisture out, just a little blot before adding to the wet ingredients. I own and love this box grater—works quickly!
- 9×13 Cake: Interested in making a sheet cake instead? This batter will fit into a 9×13-inch pan. The bake time is long—at least 45 minutes to ensure the thick cake is baked through. Same oven temperature.
- Cupcakes: This recipe yields 24-30 cupcakes. Bake for 18-22 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out *mostly* clean with no wet batter. Same oven temperature.
Keywords: chocolate zucchini cake
Also try these as cupcakes! Directions in the recipe notes.
Hello Sally,
For my cake pans I only have dark non stick.
I wanted to know if I would need to adjust the baking temperature and time since I’m using dark non stick cake pans or would I still use the same baking temperature and timeframe that you recommend for this recipe?
Hi Jessica, we typically bake with lighter colored pans, so if using a darker pan we’d recommend keeping a close eye on it, as it may bake a bit quicker. You can use a toothpick to test for doneness. Hope you enjoy the cake!
Loved recipe made the cupcakes this time Beautiful
★★★★★
My mom promised to bring a cake to a meeting, but had no time to make the cake. I took over the task, and while looking for cake recipes, came across this one. I happened to have zucchini that was about to spoil, and figured it was a great way to use it. Mind you, I had ZERO hope that this cake was going to be great. I just didn’t want to toss the zucchini, and had to make a cake- two birds, one stone.
Made the cake, left out the chocolate chips because I didn’t have any. Made Sally’s Chocolate Cream Cheese icing to go with it. Cake seemed to turn out well with the max baking time. Sent the cake off with my mother.
Two hours later, I get a call from the entire gathering on speakerphone. Everyone RAVING about how freaking amazing the chocolate cake is. Three people asking for the recipe, and one couple doing Paleo tricked themselves into thinking the zucchini makes the cake ok to eat on their plan.
I did get a leftover piece, and OMG it might be the softest, moistest, most wonderful chocolate cake I have ever made! Not a hint of vegetables, and I don’t understand how there is literally no zucchini texture or flavor.
This is going to be a regular cake on my cake rotation- and I am not even a fan of chocolate cake!
Sally does it AGAIN!!!!
★★★★★
I’ve made this 3 times now ,twice as cupcakes with chocolate buttercream frosting….Amazing! Today I made it as a cake. I followed it exactly, except I put walnuts into the batter. I also didn’t
have time to make a frosting so I made a quick rum glaze poured it over one layer , took it to the party..There were no crumbs left. I also used Dutch processed cocoa. I’m a big stickler for following the recipe the first time, and I will again, but make it and have a good time with it cause it’s simply delicious as written and easy enough to play with when you need to substitute an ingredient for something you’re missing.
★★★★★
Absolutely this is so tasty. I made this tonight. It was so fantastic . Every one like this zucchini chocolate cake.
★★★★★
Thought this was great! I used a cream cheese frosting. Even my husband — who thinks I “hide” ingredients, liked it.
★★★★★
Absolutely delicious! Fudgy, chocolatey, stayed fresh for ages too. And you can’t even tell there is a single scrap of zucchini in there when you cut into it. An absolute winner.
★★★★★
Hi. Just curious. Can I substitute plain ol instant coffee for the espresso powder?
Sure can! We’d use 1 and 1/2 teaspoons (or up to 2 tsp) instant coffee in this cake.
I made this yesterday for my sons birthday. It was fantastic, so rich and moist! We all loved it, thank you for sharing.
★★★★★
Should the zucchini’s be peeled?
Hi Nikki, no need to peel the zucchini first, although you can if you’d prefer.
Hands down this is one of the best chocolate cakes I’ve baked! You can’t even tell there is a zucchini in it.
The zucchini adds moisture to the cake, the chocolate chips add extra chocolate flavor.
I baked it last week and my hubby who’s very picky loved it and still doesn’t know I used zucchini in it!
I didn’t add any frosting as I felt it was very sweet as it is.
The portion is enough to feed a big party – I shared it with my neighbors 5 of them and still had leftovers.
It holds very well when stored in the refrigerator.
Next time I’ll probably use less sugar but not sure how to adjust the dry/wet ingredients when doing so, I guess I’ll try and share how it goes.
Thank you for the recipe ❤️
★★★★★
Hi! Great recipe. I made this for our apartment complex Christmas party as mini muffins and it went over a treat! My favorite chocolate cake ever. Thank you so much for posting the recipe!
★★★★★
My cake is currently in the oven but just wanted to know if it’s freezable!
Hi Sam, absolutely! See recipe Notes for freezing details.
I made this cake today because I had zucchini I wanted to use up. It turned out perfectly! I didn’t change anything and baked in a 9 x 13 pan. I had some leftover cream cheese frosting so that’s what I topped it with. This is a keeper!
★★★★★
Can you use a bunt pan?
Hi Joanie, We’re unsure of the exact bake time for a Bundt cake, but it will take well over the time needed for the cake layers. Keep a close eye on it and use a toothpick to test for doneness.
Can you frozen Zucchini
Hi Sandy, You can use frozen zucchini. Thaw, then squeeze out most of the excess liquid.
This is easily the best chocolate cake I have every made. I definitely could not see or taste zucchini and the cake was beautifully moist. As a personal preference, I may leave the chocolate chips out of the batter next time. The icing was delicious – what could be better than lots of butter and chocolate! Thanks so much for the clear directions and notes. Also, I appreciated the video tutorial as it really helped take my basic cake decorating to something fancier (but easy!)
Can I use a bunt pan ,,,
Hi Carol, We’re unsure of the exact bake time for a Bundt cake, but it will take well over the time needed for the cake layers. Keep a close eye on it and use a toothpick to test for doneness.
this cake was an absolute winner!
Took this to work for a birthday in the office, didn’t last long. As it made 2 full sized cakes my daughter took the other cake to her work and got so many compliments, rich, moist, best cake ever!
A tip for other bakers, cooking time said 25 – 32 mins – I had to add 20 minutes to that.
★★★★★
The cake is delicious. I can’t seem to find the nutritional info unfortunately.
★★★★★
Hi Gina! So glad to hear you enjoy this cake. We don’t usually include nutrition information as it can vary between different brands of the same ingredients. Plus, many recipes have ingredient substitutions or optional ingredients listed. However, there are many handy online calculators where you can plug in and customize your exact ingredients/brands. Readers have found this one especially helpful: https://www.verywellfit.com/recipe-nutrition-analyzer-4157076
I absolutely loved this recipe! Did not change a thing. Super moist and freaking delicious! Put a skim of chocolate cream cheese frosting on top. Decadent! Will definitely be making again….soon.
★★★★★
This is the best chocolate cake, never mind that it has zucchini in it. I make chocolate cakes all the time and this one is the winner. (It is as good as Sally’s Lemon Cake!)
I want to point out three things that might help the next baker.
1) I don’t have deep cake pans so I split this into three regular cake pans.
2) it is a MUST that you grease the pans, then cut parchment to fit each pan, then grease the parchment too. Without the parchment, the layers stuck badly with the chips.
3) I don’t have espresso powder but simply added a couple of tablespoons of coffee to the batter. Turned out perfectly.
★★★★★
How long did you bake for in the three tins please Susie?
This looks delicious. If I want to substitute some of the oil with applesauce would I use 1/2 cup oil and 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce? Would that ratio work well?
Hi Kathy, we haven’t tested that substitution, but the cake really is best with the full amount of oil! Let us know what you try.
This recipe looks wonderful. Was wondering if this can be halved.
Thank you.
Hi Ida, it shouldn’t be an issue to halve this recipe for a one layer 9 inch cake.
looks good! can i make this without the chocolate chips? anything else i can use to replace them? more cocoa powder or would that ruin the proportions of dry to wet ingredients?
Hi Marin, you can simply omit the chocolate chips if desired — no need to replace with anything else, although you could swap with chopped nuts or another add in if desired. Do not add more cocoa powder, as it would dry out the cake as you mention. Hope you enjoy it!
Rich and indulgent. Only reason I am giving 4* is because you can definitely taste the zucchini.
★★★★
Great recipe i have been looking for a while. Do you think it will work in a bunt pan?
Hi Kim! We’re unsure of the exact bake time for a Bundt cake, but it will take well over the time needed for the cake layers. Keep a close eye on it and use a toothpick to test for doneness.
I made it in bundt pan and i was great although the cooking time is approx 55 mns
★★★★★
Hello! Would love plain Greek yogurt work?
Yes, plain greek yogurt would work here!
Love this recipe, so do all the chocolate loving people on my family. Thank you for always posting delicious recipes like your flourless chocolate cake with mocha whipped cream, yummy.
I ended up using almond flour and flour and it turned out great!
★★★★★
Can I use gluten free flour instead?
Hi Jude, We haven’t tested this recipe with gluten free flours, but some readers have reported success using 1:1 flour substitutes (like Cup4Cup). If you try it, let us know how it goes!
I have used all purpose gluten-free flour for this cake, turned out very moist, very delicious.
Great recipe! Delicious cake! Do you have a recipe for your icing?
Hi Bernice! We like to use the chocolate frosting from this chocolate cake. For vanilla, you can use the frosting from this cake.
Just took this chocolate zucchini cake out of oven. it smells really good but is too hot to cut yet. I baked in 9×13 pan but it cracked on top. Can you explain why this happens? I have had this happen with other cakes also. Thinking my pan was not big enough because it really rose high.
Hi Vaunda! Cracks are caused by air escaping out of baked goods – you usually see them with deep quick breads. It sounds like your pan may be too small – is it a true 9×13?