Chocolate Zucchini Cake

This Chocolate Zucchini Cake with Chocolate Chips recipe is moist, rich, and slightly fudgy with little semi-sweet chocolate chips baked in for an added treat! Top it off with some of this devilishly good chocolate frosting and your guests will be asking for seconds!

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Prep Time 30

Cook Time 50

Total Time 1 20

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings servings

Calories 1194 kcal

Ingredients

chocolate zucchini cake

2 ½ cup All-Purpose Flour
¼ cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
2 teaspoon Baking Soda
¼ cup Unsalted Butter (room temperature)
¼ cup Vegetable Shortening
½ cup Vegetable Oil
1 ½ cup Granulated Sugar
1 Large Egg (room temperature)
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
½ cup Sour Milk
2 cup Shredded Zucchini (do NOT drain the liquid from the shredded zucchini)
6 oz Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

chocolate frosting

1 ¼ lbs Unsalted Butter (or 5 sticks of butter, room temperature)
2 cup Powdered Sugar (sifted)
1 ½ cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
⅛ teaspoon Salt
1 cup Light Corn Syrup
1 ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 lb Dark Chocolate (melted and cooled)

Instructions

chocolate zucchini cake

Set your oven rack to the 2nd level position and preheat your oven to 325ºF.
Spray your 3, 6 inch cake pans with a flour-based baking spray. Place a circle of parchment paper in the bottom of each pan, then lightly respray. Alternatively, you can grease the pans with butter and coat in flour, but it's important to still add in the parchment paper circles (it helps to release the cake from the pan).
In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, unsweetened cocoa powder, and baking soda. Set to the side.
2 ½ cup All-Purpose Flour, ¼ cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder, 2 teaspoon Baking Soda
Using your hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment cream the unsalted butter, vegetable shortening, vegetable oil, and granulated sugar together on medium-high speed until well blended.
¼ cup Unsalted Butter, ¼ cup Vegetable Shortening, ½ cup Vegetable Oil, 1 ½ cup Granulated Sugar
Add in the egg, vanilla extract, and sour milk.
1 Large Egg, 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract, ½ cup Sour Milk
Switching your mixer speed to low, gradually add in the whisked dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Add in the shredded zucchini.
2 cup Shredded Zucchini
Fold in the chocolate chips.
6 oz Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
Evenly distribute the cake batter into each 6 inch prepared cake pan, then place in the oven to bake for 45-50 minutes at 325ºF or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean from the center of each cake.
Cool cakes in the pans for 10 minutes, then carefully invert to cool completely on wire cooling racks.

chocolate frosting

Using your hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment mix the unsalted butter, powdered sugar, unsweetened cocoa powder, and salt on medium speed until well blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Alternatively, you can use a food processor - America's Test Kitchen recommendation to make this frosting.
1 ¼ lbs Unsalted Butter, 2 cup Powdered Sugar, 1 ½ cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder, ⅛ teaspoon Salt
Add in the light corn syrup, vanilla extract, and the melted and cooled chocolate, and mix until the frosting is well blended and smooth in texture.
1 cup Light Corn Syrup, 1 ½ teaspoon Vanilla Extract, 1 lb Dark Chocolate
Frost your cake once it's completely cooled.

Recipe Notes

1 ½ pounds of butter = 5 sticks or 574 grams.
To make sour milk, add 1 ½ teaspoons of lemon juice to ½ cup of milk. Mix it up and let it sit for a minute before adding it to the rest of the ingredients.
The cake recipe is adapted from the 2001 "A Taste of Bedminster Elementary" Cookbook.
The frosting recipe is adapted from "The Perfect Cake" book by America's Test Kitchen.

Nutrition

Nutritonal information provided above is an estimate only and will vary based on specific ingredients used.

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