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Family Kitchen
Got Zucchini? Bake a (Low-fat) Chocolate Cake!
In early September, when zucchini plants reach their peak and offer up armloads of summer squash at a time, it’s common to open the front door to get the mail and come inside with a bucket of zucchini. (This is why I never bother growing my own zucchini – I never really need to.) Even when you don’t have friends and neighbors unloading their homegrown zucchini, it’s cheap and abundant at the market, and well worth picking up, if only to make a dense, moist chocolate zucchini cake – one of my favorite kinds of chocolate cake. (Don’t mind the picked-out chocolate chips in this picture – kids live here.)
Last week there was an enormous yellow zucchini in our CSA box – it was the size of a small child. I hacked an end off and grated it, and just that chunk was enough for a chocolate Bundt cake and a pan of brownies. It’s a good thing everyone loves this stuff – perhaps rather than drop off armloads of zucchini, we’ll start dropping chocolate zucchini cakes on peoples’ doorstops. How to win friends and influence people – with summer squash.
(Low Fat) Chocolate Zucchini Cake
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup cocoa
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup strong coffee , cooled (I dissolve 2 tsp. instant into water) or milk
1 zucchini, coarsely grated (don’t peel it)
1/2 cup chocolate chips (optional)Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
Add buttermilk, brown sugar, eggs, oil and vanilla and stir until well blended and smooth. Stir in coffee and zucchini.Pour into a Bundt pan that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until the top is springy to the touch.
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10 Comments
janey commented on Sep 07 10 at 11:57 amWhat would the effect be of using less sugar? I’m really not concerned about fat, but 1 1/2 cups sugar would more than I’d want to use, but I’m unsure if there are other modifications I’d need to make to compensate for that.
JulieVR commented on Sep 07 10 at 2:31 pmAbsolutely, cut it back – no need to replace it with anything. I already cut back 1/2 cup (it was 2 cups) – many cakes contain equal amounts of sugar and flour – some even more! I’d say cut it back to 1 cup and see how it goes, then trim from there if you want.
Amy commented on Sep 07 10 at 5:12 pmI also replace the oil with apple sauce which removes 56 grams of fat from the entire recipe. Additionally to add in healthy fat and provide for egg allergies you can sub eggs with ground flax seed (1 TBSP ground flax mixed 3 TBSP water per egg) to increase the fiber and the omega 3 content! No one will ever know, I’ve tested it on my family first hand!
R commented on Sep 07 10 at 6:44 pmCould I omit the coffee? Not a fan.
R commented on Sep 07 10 at 8:50 pmOops! I just read it properly. Yes, I will use milk instead. Can’t wait to try it!
JulieVR commented on Sep 08 10 at 11:56 amGreat idea Amy! But 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) of oil is not much for an entire cake, and we all need some healthy fats in our diets – you could use any vegetable oil, including a light olive oil- and of course plant fats are good for us for many reasons, including heart health. Replacing all the fat in a recipe with fruit puree (when I do this, I typically use more nutrient-dense canned pumpkin or mashed banana rather than applesauce) can make it gummy – glad it passed your family’s test!
monkeysmama commented on Sep 15 10 at 6:53 pmA co-worker made this and brought it in today. Absolutely DELICIOUS. She made it without the coffee since she fed it to her kids. I’m not sure what it takes like with it, but without is just PERFECT!
PC commented on Oct 26 10 at 9:31 pmThe moment I saw this picture I just had to make this cake. Wow! Soooo good. (I also made muffins from this recipe and they came out great. I baked them for about 25 – 30 minutes). Thanks so much!
Ruth commented on Oct 19 11 at 5:27 pmThe instructions say 1 zucchini. Is that a whole zucchini? What size are we talking about here? I have one that is over 4 lbs! Any chance we could get it in cups? Or should it be one cup? I want to make this tonight so please help!
YGC commented on Mar 02 12 at 12:54 amI so wanted this to be as good as it sounded but something went wrong. It baked up beautifully but when i took it out of the oven to cool after 50 minutes, it completely deflated. It had a strange gelatinous interior. The top looked perfect when I took it out, crusty, crackly and springy. The batter seemed really runny when I put it in. Is that right?
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