Chocolate Zucchini Cake

5 from 1 vote

This easy, scratch-made cake is 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.

Prep Time15

Cook Time45

Total Time1

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings:

Calories: 339kcal

Author: Melinda O'Malley Keckler

Ingredients

½ cup butter softened
½ cup vegetable oil
1 ¾ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 ½ cups flour
¼ cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon cloves ground
½ cup buttermilk
2 cups zucchini grated and patted dry with paper towels
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat Oven, Grate Zucchini

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 13” x 9” baking pan, or spray with Pam.
Grate the zucchini using the largest side of a box grater. Place the grated zucchini between several paper towels or a clean dish towel. Blot and squeeze the grated zucchini to remove excess moisture. Set aside.

Blend Ingredients

In a mixing bowl, cream the softened butter, vegetable oil and sugar. Blend until creamy and smooth. Beat in the eggs and vanilla extract.
½ cup butter, ½ cup vegetable oil, 1 ¾ cup sugar, 2 eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
In a small bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and cloves. Whisk to blend.
2 ½ cups flour, ¼ cup cocoa powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon cloves
Add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk and stir to combine so the dry ingredients are incorporated with the butter and sugar mixture, but be careful not to overmix.
½ cup buttermilk
Use a spatula to gently stir in the shredded zucchini. Stir just until the zucchini is evenly distributed with the chocolate cake batter.
2 cups zucchini
Pour the cake batter into the baking pan and sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly across the top.
½ cup semisweet chocolate chips

Bake and Serve

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Check the cake at 40 minutes and be careful not to overbake.
Remove from the oven and cool on a baking rack.
Slice and serve!

Notes

There's no 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.

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.

Nutrition