Welcome to the first of my hidden veggies dessert series: I bet you'd never guess! First, we're shining the spotlight on courgettes (aka: zucchini) with this delicious courgette chocolate cake that's prepped and baked within an hour. Similar to my beetroot chocolate cake, you won't be able to detect that there are vegetables inside!
🧾 Ingredients
Here's everything you need to make this vegan chocolate zucchini cake. Find the complete list of ingredients, quantities, and instructions in the recipe card at the end of this post.
Ingredient Notes
- Grated Courgette: You might know this summer squash as zucchini, depending on where you are in the world. There’s no need to squeeze out any excess moisture from the courgettes - simply place them on a clean tea towel or some kitchen paper until you’re ready to add them to the batter.
- Vegan Buttermilk: This reacts with the bicarbonate of soda to create a soft and tender crumb. My homemade buttermilk recipe uses just 2 ingredients - non-dairy milk and apple cider vinegar.
- Olive Oil: I like to use extra virgin olive oil, especially in chocolate cakes where its robust flavor really shines. However, if you prefer a milder taste, you can use a neutral oil like sunflower oil or canola oil instead.
- Dutch-Process Cocoa Powder: Because this is alkalized, it has a smooth, more intense chocolate flavor and a richer, darker color. Using natural cocoa powder will result in a cake that is slightly more bitter with a reddish-brown color.
- Coconut Sugar: Keeps the recipe free from refined sugar, but you can substitute with panela sugar or light brown sugar based on what you have available.
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🔪 Instructions
Here are some useful tips and a visual overview showing how to make this chocolate courgette cake recipe. Please refer to the detailed recipe card at the end of this page for full measurements and written instructions. You can also hit the jump to recipe button at the very top of this page to skip to the printable recipe card.
Make the batter
Firstly, whisk together the wet ingredients in a large bowl. As with the majority of my vegan cake recipes, sugar is added with the wet mixture here, as it dissolves into the liquids, preventing sugar clumps throughout the cake batter. Ensure your dry ingredients are sifted, then whisk half into the batter.
Then we will switch to a rubber spatula and carefully fold through the grated zucchini and remaining dry ingredients.
Pour the batter into an 8-inch springform cake tin lined with parchment paper. You can also bake it in an 8-inch square tin or a 1 lb loaf tin if you like. If using a loaf tin, just add about 10 extra minutes to the baking time, or until a skewer comes out clean.
You'll note that this cake bakes at a slightly higher fan oven temperature than my other recipes due to the high moisture content (170°c fan vs. 160°c fan). If you're using a conventional oven, you might need to add 5-10 minutes to the baking time, but I don't recommend increasing the temperature from 180°c, as you can risk burning the top of the cake.
Decorating and serving the cake
Once baked, let the cake rest in the pan for 10 minutes before carefully releasing it from the pan. This short rest allows the cake to finish setting - taking it out too soon can cause it to crack or break apart.
Let the cake come to room temperature on a cooling rack, and meanwhile, prep half a batch of this vegan ganache recipe for the topping. Let the ganache cool for 30 minutes, then whisk it with an electric mixer for a light and smooth finish before swirling it on top of the cake. You can go even extra with some grated chocolate curls on top if you like.
If you don't feel like making the frosting, you can serve it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or dairy-free Greek yogurt. Or you can serve it plain to keep things simple, it's honestly so moist, chocolatey, and so good just on its own!
💬 FAQs
Once the cake has fully cooled, wrap it in plastic wrap or store it in an airtight container. You can keep it in a cool place in your kitchen for up to 2 days. Due to its high moisture content, it's best to refrigerate it if you want to store it longer for up to 5 days. Since this cake is oil-based and contains no butter, it stays moist and won’t dry out in the fridge!
For this snack cake, use a box grater with medium-sized holes. The shredded courgette blends seamlessly into the batter, making it completely undetectable in the finished cake.
If you prefer a less sweet cake, you can reduce the sugar by 25% to 130g (¾ cup). Note, this will affect the texture and result in slightly less moist crumbs!
I haven't tested this, so I can't stand over the results. If you give it a try, make sure you use a gluten-free blend such as King Arthur's measure for measure flour, which readers are generally reporting good results with across other recipes!
🎂 More Vegan Cakes
📖 Recipe
Vegan Chocolate Courgette Cake
Ingredients
- 250 g (1 large) courgette grated weight *note 1
- 180 g (1 ½ cups) all-purpose flour
- 60 g (¾ cup) Dutch-process cocoa powder *note 2
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 batch (240 ml /1 cup) homemade vegan buttermilk *note 3
- 170 g (1 cup) coconut sugar *note 4
- 100 ml (⅓ cup + 4 teaspoons) olive oil *note 5
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ batch (250 g) vegan chocolate ganache optional, for topping
Instructions
- Prep courgette: Wash and tail the courgette, and use a coarse-hole box grater to shred it. Place it on top of a clean tea towel or sheet of kitchen roll in a bowl until ready to use.
- Mix dry ingredients: Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt into a bowl and stir to combine. Set aside.
- Mix wet ingredients: In a separate bowl, whisk the vegan buttermilk, coconut sugar, oil, and vanilla.
- Make the batter: Add half the dry ingredients to the wet and whisk until combined. Then switch to a rubber spatula, and gently fold in the other half of dry ingredients and grated courgette.
- Bake: Add the batter to the prepared pan and bake for 50 minutes *note 6. To check for doneness, insert a skewer or toothpick into the center, it should come out almost clean with a few crumbs. If there is still wet batter on the skewer, continue to bake for another 5 minutes as needed.
- Cool: Allow the cake to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then carefully remove the pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Prep the ganache and let it cool for 30 minutes, then whisk it with an electric mixer for a light and smooth finish before swirling it on top of the cake.
Notes
- Courgette: Weigh the courgette after grating.
- Cocoa Powder: I recommend Dutch-processed, which is alkalized for a more intense flavor. In a pinch, you can use natural cocoa powder.
- Vegan Buttermilk: The full recipe and instructions are linked in the pink text.
- Coconut Sugar: Swap for brown sugar or raw cane sugar.
- Olive Oil: Swap for canola oil, sunflower oil, or light olive oil.
- Baking Time: If using a conventional oven, you may need to increase bake time by 5-10 minutes. Check for doneness at the 50 minute mark and increase accordingly.
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