When zucchini flourishes like it does now, zucchini recipes start popping up everywhere. This zucchini chocolate cake might be one of the best I've found.
There's an old joke in Nebraska that you should never leave your car unlocked in late summer because if you do, you will find zucchinis in your back seat.
If that happens to you, here is a recipe for the most delicious, dark, fudgy zucchini cake ever. This cake uses three cups of grated zucchini in a thirteen-by-nine-inch pan! The zucchini adds wonderful density and moisture to the cake, but you can't taste it!
Zucchini is mostly water, so it virtually disappears into the cake. It has so little flavor of its own that all you taste is chocolate!! Don't peel the zucchini; their green skin is full of vitamins! This mahogany-colored cake disguises the green peels, making them completely unnoticeable.
Zucchini is an ingredient similar to bananas or applesauce in baking. It adds a wonderful texture, volume, and moistness to baked goods and adds an extra boost of nutrition.
The unique thing about this recipe is I used Hershey's Special Dark Dutch Cocoa for a truly decadent, rich dark chocolate zucchini cake and frosting.
Although all cocoa powders can vary from light brown to a richer dark brown, "Dutched" cocoa has been treated with an alkali wash that makes it less acidic, giving it a noticeably darker color and a richer, smoother, more mellow flavor.
Not into dark chocolate? You can also use regular cocoa in this recipe and the frosting. If you want to know more about the difference between natural and Dutch-processed cocoa, here's an in-depth post on the subject.
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray or grease a 13" by 9" pan and "flour" it using cocoa powder. This cake is so dark that it will make the cut pieces more attractive than flour.
Shred three cups of unpeeled zucchini and set it aside. Lightly pile the zucchini into the measuring cup; you don't need to pack it down.
Combine the flour, cocoa, sugar, coffee granules, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a medium-sized mixing bowl and whisk them together. Add the eggs and oil and beat the mixture until well combined, but do not overmix.
Gently fold in the zucchini and chocolate chips, just enough to ensure they are distributed evenly. Now pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and even it out in the pan. The batter will be quite thick.
Bake the cake in a 350-degree oven for about 50 minutes or until you can insert a toothpick near the center and it comes out clean. The cake is so dark it is hard to tell if it's baked, but the edges of the cake should pull back slightly from the edge of the pan.
Years ago, I found a chocolate frosting recipe on the side of a Hershey's cocoa tin that's quick and easy AND tastes so much better than any other; it's been my go-to forever.
It's called "lickety-split frosting," I always especially enjoyed the "lickety" part on the spoon and the beaters! 😉 The frosting in the photo was made with regular cocoa, but you could also use the special dark chocolate cocoa for this zucchini chocolate cake.
Cream the butter, then add the cocoa, powdered sugar, vanilla, salt, and cream or milk. Beat the mixture, starting slowly, and then increase the speed until you achieve the desired spreading consistency. You may need to adjust the milk and powdered sugar quantities a bit.
Cool the cake completely before frosting it, then add sprinkles if you like for a fanciful garnish. I used some yummy Watkins chocolate sprinkles.
This chocolate zucchini cake is rich, dense, and moist, so please cut it into smaller servings. It will easily serve sixteen people.
This recipe makes a dark chocolate zucchini cake that is dense, moist, and almost fudgy.
I recommend Hershey's "Lickety Split" Frosting recipe on a separate card.
A simple "scratch" chocolate buttercream frosting made from just 6 basic ingredients you probably have on hand. Hershey's cocoa made this frosting famous.
Are you a chocoholic? I have family members who honestly believe that chocolate is a food group and there is no such thing as too much chocolate!
Here are some of my most popular recipes with chocolate in a starring role. Chocolate Cream Puff Dessert, Chocolate Peanut Butter Balls, and Oreo Dirt Cake. What's your favorite chocolate dessert?
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Love, GB (Betty Streff)
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