Kids won’t eat veggies? No problem, this decadent Chocolate Cake is packed with zucchini. I promise they won’t be able to tell. In fact, my teenage son and mother couldn't even tell and didn't believe me when I told them I grated zucchini into the cake.
Some links on this page are affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you purchase via those links. Thank you for supporting Plant Based Folk! To learn more about affiliate links on Plant Based Folk, please read the Privacy Policy & Terms of Use.
Jump to:
Why you should make this Chocolate Zucchini Cake?
- It's healthier than traditional chocolate cake
- It has vegetable in it - go on trick your kids!
- There's no butter or eggs - this was replaced with plant based spread, apple sauce and aquafaba (What is aquafaba? It's the juice from chickpeas, seriously this juice is a miracle - so many uses for it, e.g., Vegan Meringue With Rose Water or here are some other ideas for aquafaba recipes)
- It's seriously moist, it's hard to resist not eating more than you should
Tips for making this Zucchini Chocolate Cake
Use the dark green zucchini variety
Grate zucchini fine to medium (this way the zucchini is hidden in the cake)
Swap out olive oil with coconut oil if you prefer
I used a bundt cake tin with a 21cm diameter
Don't touch the sides of the cake tin when pouring in the batter, the cake won't rise evenly if you do
Store cake in the fridge if any is left over
Here's another couple of vegan chocolate desserts to try Chocolate Peanut Brownie Bites or this mouthwatering chocolate pretzel slice or this quick rice cake with peanut butter and chocolate.
Otherwise, try this super easy 3 Ingredient Mug Cake made with instant packet and no egg.
Decadent Vegan Chocolate Zucchini Cake
Ingredients
- 2 cups Plain flour
- ¾ cup Cocoa Powder
- 1 cup Brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon Baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon Salt
- 2 cups Green zucchini
Shredded - ⅓ cup Aquafaba
chickpea juice - 2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- ½ cup Olive oil
- 1 tablespoon White Vinegar
- ½ cup Apple sauce
- ¼ cup Chocolate shavings for garnish (plantbased of course)
Chocolate Frosting
- 4 cups Icing sugar
- ¾ cup Cocoa powder
- ½ cup Vegan butter
room temperature - 2 teaspoon Apple sauce
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven at 180 degrees Celsius (356 degrees Fahrenheit)
- Grate zucchini and set aside
- In a bowl mix flour and cocoa powered together
- Mix in remaining dry ingredients and create a well
- Add all wet ingredients into the well and mix through until cake batter forms
- In an oiled cake bundt tin, pour in cake batter.
- Bake in an oven for about 45min. This may depend on your oven, so check in on the cake at the 30min mark with a fork by stick in the fork into the cake and if it comes out with batter or gooey cake you know its not ready.
- Once cake is baked, allow it to sit for 10 min before placing it onto cooling rack. This will ensure cake doesn't crack
- Once on cooling rack allow it to cool down to room temperature before applying frosting. Otherwise frosting will melt.
- Garnish with chocolate shavings
- Using a spatula, spread on chocolate frosting
Chocolate Frosting
- In a bowl sift in icing sugar & cocoa powder, then combine
- Add in wet ingredients and whip together until it the consistency is thick enough to place onto the cake.
Notes
Equipment
Nutrition
N.B., nutrition info is an estimate based on an online nutrition calculator. This will vary based on the specific ingredients you use.
Miriam
This was my first attempt baking with aquafaba. I used coconut sugar & decreased the amount to 3/4 of a cup, and used white & spelt flour. I also added soy carob chips at the end. Next time I would stick to the full amount of sugar & omit the carob.
Anjali
I love how this cake is secretly healthy in so many ways! I've never used aquafaba in baking before but this recipe has inspired me to give it a try!
Emmeline
Haha I love this idea for getting your kids to eat veggies! Looks deliciously decadent so who would ever know??
Christian Guzman
Oh, my goodness YUM! I'm so glad I found this recipe at just the right time. I just picked some zucchini out of the garden and will be making this right away. Thank you!
Peter
I’m so used to banana bread and zucchini bread, but never see a recipe for zucchini cake. Such a unique twist. I love it. Fantastic. And I lOOOOOVE that you use chickpea liquid!! It’s amazing how easy it is to whip and use in recipes like this. This really is a truly unique twist and I love this so much.
Alexandra
We love hidden veggie recipes - they make it so much easier to get the kids to eat their greens! This is a great recipe!
Maren Chocolate Bon Bons
love this cake!