This Chocolate Zucchini Cake recipe is an easy, scratch-made cake that turns a bumper crop of zucchini into a memorable dessert. It's perfect for summer gatherings, potlucks or anytime you want a moist chocolate cake that's easy to serve with just the right amount of chocolatey sweetness.
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⭐ Why Melinda Loves Chocolate Zucchini Cake
It's an old-fashioned chocolate cake recipe I've been making for years. It freezes great and serves easily. Perfect for potlucks or office gatherings.
Buttermilk and cloves are two ingredients that make this cake special. The buttermilk boosts the tenderness of the cake and the cloves add just a hint of spice.
No frosting is needed, making this a super-easy cake to slice and share on the go!
🥣 Ingredients to Have on Hand
Cocoa Powder: It only takes ¼ cup of this potent chocolate powder to add plenty of rich chocolate flavor to this zucchini cake. Keep the cocoa powder on hand and make Tiramisu Cake for dessert next time! Cocoa powder is also delicious with crushed vanilla wafers to make the crust for Marbled Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars.
Cinnamon & Ground Cloves: The amount of cinnamon and cloves we use in this recipe is small, but together they add a touch of distinctive warm spice to the chocolate cake. Cinnamon is a mainstay in many spice cabinets and it's great to have it on hand for other desserts like Pumpkin Pie with Sweetened Condensed Milk and Fresh Apple Cake.
Zucchini: If you are lucky enough to grow fresh zucchini in the garden, then you likely have more than enough for this recipe. Two cups of grated zucchini is about two medium-sized zucchini, but it can vary. Be sure to make a batch of Zucchini Stuffing Casserole for a savory twist on zucchini!
Scroll to the recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
🎂 Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Preheat the oven and grate two cups of zucchini using the large holes of a box grater.
Step 2: Use paper towels to gently blot excess moisture from the grated zucchini.
Step 3: Place the sugar in a mixing bowl with the vegetable oil and softened butter.
Step 4: Blend until the ingredients are creamy, then add the eggs and vanilla extract.
Step 5: Measure the dry ingredients into a medium-sized bowl.
Step 6: Whisk to combine the dry ingredients.
Step 7: Alternately, add the buttermilk and the dry ingredients to the blended ingredients in the mixing bowl.
Step 8: Add the grated zucchini to the chocolate cake batter and stir gently to combine.
Step 9: Spread the chocolate zucchini cake batter into the baking pan.
Step 10: Sprinkle chocolate chips on top and bake for 40 minutes.
⭐Pro Tip
Add the buttermilk and the dry ingredients alternately; this is a quick trick I also use when I make my Old Fashioned Chocolate Pound Cake. Taking turns with the dry ingredients and the liquid buttermilk helps distribute the ingredients evenly. It also keeps us from overmixing the cake batter.
💭 Recipe FAQs
You don't need to peel the zucchini, especially if the squash is harvested earlier in the season when the peel is tender and the zucchini is smaller.
For zucchini that have grown larger and been harvested later in the season, those peels are often thicker. I recommend removing the peel from the larger zucchini to ensure that none of the peel's bitterness is baked into the cake.
Yes, you could sprinkle the top with the same amount of chopped walnuts instead of using chocolate chips. Or, frost the cake with either chocolate frosting or homemade buttercream frosting after it cools, or slice and serve it without any topping at all.
Yellow squash and zucchini are very similar in taste and texture and can be swapped in most recipes, including this one. I do recommend peeling the yellow squash.
It should be fine. I've done the same thing, and the cake turned out great. Blotting dry the zucchini just removes some of the excess moisture, but this cake is very forgiving.
Check near the center of the cake with a toothpick after 40 minutes, if the toothpick is damp and sticky due to the extra moisture, bake the cake for another few minutes.
⭐Pro Tip
Use paper towels to lightly blot the zucchini after grating it. There's no need to remove every drop of moisture from zucchini; a light pat with the paper towels is all that's needed.
📖 Substitutions
No buttermilk on hand? Here's an easy substitution:
Place 2 teaspoons of white vinegar or lemon juice in a measuring cup and add enough 2% or whole milk to equal ½ cup. Let the milk sit for a few minutes before blending with the other ingredients.
The "soured" milk isn't as creamy or thick as regular buttermilk. But it will help produce a tender and moist chocolate cake.
🍰What to Serve with Chocolate Zucchini Cake
This moist summer dessert is delicious, topped with a scoop of your favorite Ice cream, whipped cream, chocolate sauce, a scoop of fresh berries, a dollop of Easy Homemade Raspberry Jam, or serve it plain and let the melted chocolate chips shine!
🥣 Leftovers and Storage
Store Chocolate Zucchini Cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
It also freezes well and defrosts easily. Seal and store the cake in a freezer-safe container and defrost at room temperature. For best freshness and flavor, enjoy the cake within 3 months.
🍽 More Dessert Recipes
Enjoy Chocolate Zucchini Cake any time of year. Especially since zucchini is usually available year-round at the grocery store. Here are other sweet recipes I think you'll enjoy!
If you make my Chocolate Zucchini Cake recipe I'd love to hear how it turned out and if you enjoyed it. Please leave a 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 star rating and a comment below. I'm looking forward to hearing from you!
Recipe
This is a recipe from a Taste of Home magazine back in the 1990s. I adjusted it slightly to specify using just ¼ teaspoon of ground cloves.
Melinda O'Malley Keckler says
(From Melinda) This is a wonderful way to enjoy garden zucchini in a whole new way. I've been making this cake for many years and it's a hit every time!