Only four more cakes left to bake from Zoë Bakes Cakes, the wonderful cake cookbook that the Cake Slice Bakers has been working through this year.
There was no question that I'd be making her Best-Ever Chocolate-Zucchini Bundt Cake. Saturday is Bret's birthday and chocolate cake is his favorite.
I don't need to tell him that there's healthy zucchini stuffed in there.
This is an unusual cake in that it uses butter, oil, and sour cream to make it moist. They do a pretty good job and the cake ended up tender and a little bit hard to handle.
While I was preparing for photos, the slices kept falling apart on me. It did give me a chance to snack on it, though, and the cake is very nice and chocolaty!
It also uses regular sugar as well as quite a bit of brown sugar, making the batter smell almost like it's maple flavored.
Add that cocoa and melted chocolate, though, and you definitely know it's a deep-chocolate chocolate cake.
There's also two packed cups of zucchini in the batter.
I went to the store and loaded up on zucchini, then found it only takes about one and a half medium zucchinis to make 2 cups. There's plenty left for me to make this cake again! And that's OK.
The recipe is pretty straight forward - just be sure and have your butter, eggs, and melted chocolate at room temperature. The batter comes together much more smoothly if you do.
With this cake, you simply sprinkle it with cocoa and serve.
Of course, Bret doesn't believe in cakes or brownies without frosting, so I borrowed the awesome chocolate icing recipe from Grandmother's Cake-In-The-Pan and iced the cake after I took photos. (That cake is also a family favorite chocolate cake - check it out!)
We're enjoying Best-Ever Chocolate-Zucchini Bundt Cake and I would make it again. I've never had another chocolate-zucchini cake before, so....yes, it is the best one I've ever had!
Be gentle with it because it is very tender and will fall apart if you're not careful.
Visit the other Cake Slice Baker's choices listed below the recipe!
Best-Ever Chocolate-Zucchini Bundt Cake
Very chocolaty, tender chocolate cake!
Ingredients
- ⅔ C (50g) Dutch-processed cocoa, plus a little more for dusting
- 2 ¼ C (270g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ C (110g) butter, room temperature
- 1 C (200g) brown sugar, lightly packed
- ¾ C (150g) granulated sugar
- ½ C (120ml) vegetable or canola oil
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- ½ C (120g) sour cream (or plain full-fat yogurt)
- 2 C (315g) zucchini, packed grated unpeeled
- 4 oz (115g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled to room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F/165°C. Generously spray a 12-cup (2.8l) bundt pan with cooking spray and dust with cocoa powder.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt and ⅔ C (50g).
- In a stand mixer, cream the butter on medium-high speed until creamy and smooth, about 1 minute.
- Turn the mixer to low, add the brown sugar and granulated sugar, and mix until fully incorporated. Drizzle in the oil and vanilla, then turn the speed to medium-high and beat until very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Scrape the sides of the bowl often.
- Turn the mixer to medium-low and add the eggs, one at a time, beating just until combined. Scrape the bowl after each addition, so it doesn't just stick to the sides.
- Add one-third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, mixing on low speed, just until combined (don't overbeat or the cake will be tough). Add half of the sour cream, mixing until incorporated. Repeat with another one-third flour, then the remaining sour cream, then the last of the flour (scraping the sides of the bowl as needed).
- Remove the bowl from the mixer and stir in the zucchini until it is evenly distributed. Add the melted, cooled chocolate and stir until combined.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Gently tap the pan on the counter several times to make sure the batter has fully settled into the bundt pan.
- Bake until a tester comes out with moist crumbs (about 1 hour). Do not over bake. et the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then gently flip it out onto a serving plate and dust the top with cocoa before serving.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 178Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 32mgSodium: 224mgCarbohydrates: 28gFiber: 2gSugar: 8gProtein: 4g
Nutrition Values are Approximate
Each month The Cake Slice Bakers are offered a selection of cakes from the current book we are baking through. This year it is Zoë Bakes Cakes by Zoē François. We each choose one cake to bake, and then on the 20th - never before - we all post about our cake on our blogs. There are a few rules that we follow, but the most important ones are to have fun and enjoy baking & eating cakes!
Follow our Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages where you can find all of our cakes, as well as inspiration for many other cakes. You can also click on the links below to take you to each of our cakes. If you have a blog and are interested in joining The Cake Slice Bakers and baking along with us, please send an email to thecakeslicebakers at gmail dot com for more details.
The Cake Slice Bakers also have a new Facebook group called The Cake Slice Bakers and Friends. This group is perfect for those who do not have a blog but want to join in the fun and bake through this book.
Plum Cake
- All That's Left Are The Crumbs
- Karen's Kitchen Stories
- Culinary Adventures with Camilla
- A Day in the Life on the Farm
Best Ever Chocolate-Zucchini Bundt Cake
Blackberry Diva Cake
I made this also to send up to my son's apartment though I shared the plum cake for the event. It was delicious!
I can't wait to try that plum cake, Camilla!
Chocolate Zucchini cake is a staple each season in this household Yours looks wonderful
Thanks Wendy. It's a good thing to make with leftover zucchini!
Look delicious! And with all that zucchini in it, I wouldn’t feel bad eating a slice for breakfast!
Thanks Amanda! Definitely breakfast material - would be great with coffee!
I think I might even "let" some slices break so I could snack on them, lol! Looks great!
Lol, you're right Karen. It wasn't an unpleasant thing at all. Thanks!