Each piece of this chocolate zucchini cake has 1/2 serving of veggies/fruit! The zucchini seemingly disappears into this moist, chocolatey cake.
We were away on vacation this spring during planting season, which is an extra challenge for me as a gardener. Let’s just say I don’t have much of a green thumb to begin with.
When we got home I figured it would be best to buy some plants instead of planting seeds. The plants have a head start, so that way we’d have a better chance at a harvest during our shortened growing season. But, because everybody had already picked through things at the nursery, most of the plants were gone. I managed to find a 6-pack of baby zucchini plants. Since I tend to kill plants as easily as I kill weeds, I figured six plants would be a good idea. I’d be lucky if even one of them survived!
In the end, all six did amazingly well so I’ve had zucchini coming out of my ears!
- I’ve shredded, blanched and frozen the zucchini
- I’ve made double chocolate zucchini oats (zoats)
- I’ve made zucchini chips
- I’ve made this delicious Gnocchi with Zucchini, Basil, and Corn
- I’ve given some away
- But my favourite by far has been this recipe!
why this chocolate zucchini cake is a smart choice:
This is actually a muffin-type recipe. I’ve made them as muffins and they were equally delicious. But I was feeling lazy when I made these the last time and decided to just dump the whole thing into a 9×13 and call it a cake. Even though it’s the same healthy batter you would use for a muffin, if you make it into a cake, you can serve it to guests in the evening as a dessert. Boom! Healthy treat for the win! If you try to serve muffins for dessert, people look at you strange. But cake? People love cake!
If you give this recipe a go, let me know! Leave a comment, rate it, or snap a photo and tag it with #smartnutritionrecipes on Instagram! I’d love to see your creations! Knowing someone has enjoyed one of my recipes always makes my day brighter.
Healthy Chocolate Cherry Zucchini Cake
Ingredients
- 4 eggs
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 1 cup canola oil
- ¾ cup cocoa
- 1 tbsp vanilla
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 2 tbsp ground flax seed
- 2 tbsp inulin optional… great ingredient to add a little extra fibre
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 4 cups shredded zucchini
- 2 cups chopped cherries
- 2 cups plain greek yogurt
- ¾ cup chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a standmixer combine the eggs, sugar, oil, cocoa, and vanilla. Stir until well combined.
- Add in the flours, flax seed, inulin (optional), salt, and baking soda. Stir together on low then increase to medium until well combined. Don’t overstir.
- Add in the zucchini, yogurt, cherries, and chocolate chips. Stir until well combined. Don’t overstir.
- Grease a 9×12 pan. Pour the batter into the pan.
- Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
- Allow to cool and cut into 30 squares.
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Debra says
You left out the cherries in the mixing directions. Do you use seeded fresh cherries, chopped? Do you add them along with the zucchini?
Jessica Penner says
Yes, seeded fresh cherries chopped! I fold them in at the end. I’ll add that into the recipe. Thanks for pointing that out!
Cathy O'Shea says
Is there a way to use less oil to make it lower in calories?
Jessica Penner says
I know it sounds like a lot of oil but this makes a large recipe… around 36 pieces. So that ends up being about 1 tsp oil/piece. You could substitute some applesauce for the oil but I haven’t tried it so I can’t comment on how it would turn out!