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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You left out the cherries in the mixing directions. Do you use seeded fresh cherries, chopped? Do you add them along with the zucchini?
Yes, seeded fresh cherries chopped! I fold them in at the end. I’ll add that into the recipe. Thanks for pointing that out!
Is there a way to use less oil to make it lower in calories?
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!