Do you have a garden overflowing with fresh zucchini this time of year? Put them to good use with this Chocolate Zucchini Cake! Covered with an irresistible chocolate glaze, this Bundt cake is dark and rich with the perfect amount of sweetness.
The best reason to grow zucchini is all the delicious baked goods you can make! Stock up your freezer with some Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread and Lemon Zucchini Cake this summer.
Why this Recipe is Best
This Zucchini Cake is a dark chocolate lover’s dream come true. Dark cocoa powder and espresso bring out a rich dimension of chocolate flavor that will make you swoon.
Need more reasons to LOVE this cake recipe?
- It’s a bundt cake which means you don’t have to fuss with frosting bags and precise decorating. Just pour the chocolate ganache on top and voila!
- Shredded zucchini keeps the cake extra moist. Zucchini cakes stay moist even days later, making them a great make ahead option.
- Chocolate morsels folded into the batter add an extra decadent touch.
- Chocolate Zucchini Cake is freezer friendly! You can make it on a weekend and stash it away for a future special occasion.
Ingredient Notes
Espresso powder. This doesn’t make the cake taste like coffee! A strong instant coffee or espresso powder helps enhance the natural flavors of the chocolate. I use THIS ONE on Amazon (you’ll see this in several of my recipes, including my tiramisu cupcakes and our chocolate pound cake).
Dark Cocoa Powder. Use a GOOD quality cocoa for best flavor. Hershey’s Special Dark or Ghirardelli are good choices.
Shredded zucchini. Freshly grated or frozen thawed shredded zucchini can both be used here. Use our guide on how to shred zucchini.
Easy Instructions
Combine cake ingredients:
Start by beating butter and sugar with baking soda, baking powder, oil and kosher salt. Mix in the eggs and vanilla extract.
Beat in flour, cocoa powder and espresso powder. Then, fold in zucchini and chocolate chips.
Bake:
Pour batter into a greased bundt pan. Bake for 1 hour.
Let the cake cool in the pan for about 15 minutes. Invert onto a serving platter and let the zucchini bundt cake cool completely.
Make the ganache:
Heat the heavy cream in a double boiler. Stir in the chocolate chips and whisk until melted and smooth.
Glaze and serve:
Pour slightly cooled glaze over the top of the bundt cake. Allow the chocolate glaze to set for about 15 minutes before serving.
Slice and enjoy!
Tips and Tricks
- How to shred zucchini: Use a box grater to shred zucchini into fine pieces. You can also use a food processor to grate it but be careful not to puree.
- Using frozen zucchini. You can make my Chocolate Zucchini Cake recipe with frozen zucchini too! Thaw the zucchini and squeeze out any excess water with a paper towel. Then add it to the cake batter as directed.
- Best way to pour ganache on a bundt cake. Place strips of parchment paper under the edges of your cake before adding the glaze. After pouring glaze over the cake, remove the parchment strips. Your cake platter will be neat and clean!
- Serve: Serve slightly warm with a dollop of fresh whipped cream or scoop of vanilla ice cream. Or drizzle some heavy whipping cream on it for a decadent treat.
Recipe FAQs
Store this cake in a cake saver at room temperature. It will keep fresh for about 5 days.
Wrap unglazed Chocolate Zucchini Cake in plastic wrap, then place in a heavy freezer bag. When ready to eat, thaw on the counter and add glaze before serving.
This Zucchini Bundt Cake recipe was tested using a 12 cup Bundt pan.
You don’t have to peel the zucchini first, unless you prefer to! This is a dark cake so the green pieces won’t be easily visible.
More Easy Dessert Recipes
- Cinnamon Frosted Zucchini Bars
- Zucchini Blueberry Bread
- Peanut Butter Sheet Cake
- Sugar Cream Pie
- Oreo Pie
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Chocolate Zucchini Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup milk
- 2 large eggs
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup dark chocolate unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder
- 3 cups shredded zucchini
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels
For the glaze:
- 6 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream
- 1 ½ cup milk chocolate morsels
Instructions
- Generously grease a 12-cup Bundt pan with baking spray. Set aside. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat butter, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and oil together until blended. Add vanilla, milk, and eggs and beat for 2-3 minutes.
- Add flour, cocoa, and espresso powder and beat an additional 2-3 minutes until well combined. Fold in shredded zucchini and semi-sweet chocolate chips.
- Pour into prepared baking dish and bake for 60-65 minutes.
- Remove and cool about 15 minutes in pan. Place a serving plate over top of pan and invert cake, tapping gently if needed. Allow to cool completely.
- For the glaze, heat the cream in a double boiler (or a glass bowl set over 1inch of boiling water). Whisk in chocolate until smooth. Remove from heat and allow to cool about 15 minutes.
- Before adding glaze, rip strips of parchment paper and place under edges of cake. Drizzle glaze over top of cake. Allow to set, about 15 minutes. Remove strips of paper (and your cake plate will remain nice and clean)!
Notes
- How to shred zucchini: Use a box grater to shred zucchini into fine pieces. You can also use a food processor to grate it but be careful not to puree.
- Using frozen zucchini. You can make my Chocolate Zucchini Cake recipe with frozen zucchini too! Thaw the zucchini and squeeze out any excess water with a paper towel. Then add it to the cake batter as directed.
- Best way to pour glaze on a bundt cake. Place strips of parchment paper under the edges of your cake before adding the glaze. After pouring glaze over the cake, remove the parchment strips. Your cake platter will be neat and clean!
- Serve: Serve slightly warm with a dollop of fresh whipped cream or scoop of vanilla ice cream. Or drizzle some heavy whipping cream on it for a decadent treat.
- Storage: Store in a cake saver at room temperature for up to 5 days. Or freeze slices of leftover cake. Wrap them in plastic wrap and slide in air tight container or freezer bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw on counter and serve.
Video
Nutrition
Go ahead and plant some extra zucchini in the garden this year. Then save this Chocolate Zucchini Bundt Cake recipe as something to look forward to!
Hi, I’m making this cake the night before. Should I leave the ganache off until I serve it or just pour it on once it cools? Could I make the ganache ahead too and just re heat it before serving? Thanks.
You can pour the ganache on once the cake cools. It will harden slightly on the cake overnight, which is perfect.
We were given a lot of zucchini, so my sister and I decided to go ahead and try and make a chocolate zucchini cake (for the first time!). And I am so happy we found this recipe. It is delicious! We will definitely be making it again. (We didn’t have any espresso powder so we had to omit it, but the cake still turned out amazing!)
So glad you loved it. It’s a hit for us every year!
Thank you for this recipe. I have a ton of zucchini and this cake is amazing!
This was so moist and full of flavor. We loved this cake and can’t wait to make it again!
I LOVE how moist and delicious this cake is!! A must try!
Do I need to squeeze the zucchini after shredding?
Aimee I only have olive oil. Too heavy for a cake. Any suggestions to Replace oil. I am going to make cupcakes. I made the bunds and it was a huge hit
I watched the video and proceeded to mix ingredients but I didn’t have semi-sweet chocolate pieces. I think the video should have shown the chips going in, as well. I wasn’t going to go to the store and get any. It turned out fine.
In the video I forgot to add the chocolate chips. And honestly? It turned out delicious as well…
have never tried the zucchini cake thing – this looks like an excellent place to start!
Do it 🙂
Love this cake! Making it for the second time today!
LOOK HOW FUDGY! I’m seriously drooling all over my keyboard. 🙂
I just made this last week and shared it with my in-laws. They loved it! My MIL even commented that her chocolate zucchini cake never turns out as well as mine! Thanks for the great recipe!
Yeah! Score with the MIL 🙂 Glad it was such a hit, thanks for stopping over and letting me know!
This recipe is delicious! It is definitely a keeper. I just was a little confused on the 1 cup of semi sweet morsels. I figured you just add it to the batter but no where in the instructions said to do that. I thought maybe the 1 cup of morsels was an error and should of been with glaze ingredients but I figured that adding some morsels to the batter wouldn’t hurt and it didn’t! Thanks for sharing!
So glad to hear you loved the cake Lisa! I just fixed the recipe, whoops, yes, the chocolate chips get folded into the batter with the zucchini!