This Chocolate Zucchini Cake is probably the healthiest, most fudgy and super moist chocolate cake that you’ll ever taste!

Ssshhhh, for those who don’t know, don’t tell them there is veggie in it! Watch the recipe video here.

I must admit…..when I first heard of chocolate zucchini cake, I was really really skeptical.  I mean, I can handle zucchini in a salad or a roast, even in a cheese bake but come on, who puts zucchini in a cake??? Isn’t that stretching vegan too far!?!

Chocolate and Zucchini…REALLY?

Life is full of surprises, especially when it comes to food experiment. As I researched more, I was intrigued. In Asia, my part of the world, Chocolate Zucchini Cake is almost unheard of; but it is a regular favorite in the vegan world and other parts of the continent.

After trying and testing out this recipe, I must say I’m now fully converted. It is the zucchini that is the SECRET ingredient!

Because zucchini is so full of moisture, it makes the cake super moist, luxuriously fudgy and yet not heavy at all. And it keeps the moisture well even when the cake is stored for 3 to 4 days in the refrigerator. And one can’t taste the zucchini at all, all that vegetable goodness just bakes and disappears into the cake, making it wonderfully fudgy and soft.

I did two separate taste tests on Beautiful (moniker for teenage Daughter No. 2) and her classmate, daughter of a good family friend. These two girls would NEVER touch zucchini on its own…..least of all, eat it. Well,……..Never Say Never*

*Newly discovered trivia – did you know Never say Never is a Charles Dickens quote? This expression was first recorded in his Pickwick Papers (1837)….but I digress….

The taste test was an overwhelming success. Having taken a first slice, even after they were told that there is ZUCCHINI in the cake, both girls went back for seconds and asked for more. In fact, when I told Beautiful I was writing my post on the chocolate zucchini cake, she asked if we could have it for dessert. Her words to me after dinner, eyes widening as she had her first mouthful of chocolate zucchini cake dessert, “Mom, you have struck gold!”. There – Proof in the Pudding 🙂

MOIST, MOIST, MOIST!

And the Chocolate Zucchini Cake recipe is easy. I can sum it up in 4 simple steps.

• Mix the dry ingredients

• Mix the wet ingredients and zucchini

• Combine the dry and the wet ingredients

• Bake, cool and enjoy! Check out the video and full recipe below to see how easy.

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Tips:

• This Chocolate Zucchini Cake is rich and delicious on its own even without frosting. When I make it naked without frosting, I like to add ½ cup of semi sweet dark chocolate chips to the batter to get those little pockets of melty chocolate surprise in each bite. If baking as cupcakes or in a brownie pan, reduce cooking time to 15-20 minutes.

Freshly baked in a brownie pan

• I find that the cake is a little denser if I use sour cream and a bit lighter with buttermilk so depending on the texture preference, you can interchange these two ingredients (I have set out the quantities in the recipe below)

• I usually don’t make this ahead as this is an easy to do cake. If you do want to make ahead, do it the day before; refrigerate it overnight and frost the next day before serving. This cake stores well for 4-5 days, refrigerated.

I made this Chocolate Zucchini Cake for Sean, my little cute handsome nephew who just turned 1 and decided to top it off this time with chocolate ganache & chocolate whipped frosting, decorated with raspberries in his initial (yes that cake in the video is his!).

Healthy birthday cake, dark, delicious and weirdly loaded with vegetables for our healthy 1 year old! Starting him young to love zucchini! So perhaps he will always identify zucchini as moist, so chocolatey and so yummy : )

Try it and hope you will be a convert just like us!