This glazed chocolate zucchini bundt cake is absolutely delicious and so easy to make! Use up some of that garden zucchini with this amazing cake!
This moist chocolate zucchini bundt cake with a chocolate ganache glaze is so easy to make and tastes fantastic!
I made this cake several times over a couple of weeks when I was testing the recipe and there were absolutely no complaints about the excessive amount of chocolate cake around here.
It’s a moist, chocolatey cake, with a sweet chocolate ganache over top, and you don’t even need any special equipment to make it!
No stand mixer or electric mixer required, just a couple of bowls and a whisk is all you need, and you can have this chocolate zucchini bundt cake in the oven in just a few minutes.
The only thing that takes a bit of time is grating and squeezing out the zucchini, and even that does not take very long.
This cake is quick and easy to make and tastes great, making it the perfect dessert to use up some of that garden zucchini!
Do you peel zucchini before you shred it?
This is just a personal preference, but I never bother to peel zucchini before shredding it. The skin is very thin so there is no need.
It’s easier to just shred the zucchini with the skin on, and it also lets you keep the nutrients from the peel in your recipe rather than throwing them away. Having the skin on the shredded zucchini will not change the texture of your baking at all.
How do you shred zucchini for cake?
I usually shred zucchini in my food processor. I find that this is the fastest way, but the large holes on a box grater will work just as well.
I never bother peeling the zucchini first, but I do quarter it and scrape out the seeds with a spoon when the zucchini is large.
How do you get the water out of zucchini?
Zucchini needs to be drained after shredding it to use it in baked goods like this chocolate zucchini bundt cake.
After shredding the zucchini, place it in a fine mesh strainer and let the liquid drain while you’re prepping the rest of the ingredients. You can also press on the zucchini with a spoon to squeeze out some of the excess liquid.
If you want to, you can wring out even more liquid in a clean kitchen towel, but I rarely bother doing this.
For this chocolate zucchini bundt cake recipe, it’s not necessary. Just press out some of the liquid in a strainer, or squeeze the excess liquid out with your hands as you measure it out.
Does zucchini cake need to be refrigerated?
Zucchini cake does not need to be refrigerated. I keep this chocolate zucchini cake covered, at room temperature, for 3-5 days.
After about 3 days it will start to dry out, so try to keep it covered if you can. I use a cake dome to cover it, and this works well to keep the air out without ruining the glaze.
How to make Chocolate Zucchini Bundt Cake:
- I use Dutch processed cocoa powder for this recipe, and have not tried it with natural cocoa powder.
- You don’t need an electric mixer or stand mixer to make this cake, just a couple bowls and a whisk. It mixes up very quickly without any special equipment.
- Measure the zucchini after grating it and squeezing out some of the excess liquid.
- This cake keeps well, covered, for 3-5 days at room temperature.
Here are some more great zucchini recipes for you:
- Chocolate Zucchini Bread
- Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread
- Carrot Zucchini Muffins
- Chocolate Zucchini Muffins
- Creamy Tuscan Chicken
Chocolate Zucchini Bundt Cake
This glazed chocolate zucchini bundt cake is absolutely delicious and so easy to make! Use up some of that garden zucchini with this amazing cake!
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I use dutch processed)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup canola oil (or vegetable oil)
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
- 3 large eggs
- 3 cups shredded zucchini, drained
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
For the glaze:
- 1/4 cup heavy (35%) whipping cream
- 4 ounces chopped semi-sweet chocolate
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Generously spray a 10 cup bundt pan with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In another bowl, whisk together the oil, buttermilk, sugar, brown sugar, and eggs until smooth and well combined. Stir in the shredded zucchini.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until just combined.
- Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan and smooth the top with a spatula.
- Bake the cake for 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.
- Let the cake cool in the pan for 5 minutes, and then turn it out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
For the glaze:
- Heat the cream in a stovetop pot over medium heat, until it starts to steam. Remove it from the heat before it starts to boil.
- Pour the hot cream over top of the chopped chocolate and stir until the chocolate is completely melted and the glaze is smooth.
- Drizzle the glaze over top of the cooled cake.
Notes
After shredding the zucchini, let it sit in a colander while you get the rest of the ingredients out and mixed together to drain a bit. Give it a squeeze before measuring it out to get rid of some excess liquid, but it’s not necessary to wring it out in a towel to get all the moisture out.
Tossing the chocolate chips with a teaspoon of flour before adding them to the batter will help prevent them from all sinking to the bottom of the cake.
Source: Adapted from a hand written recipe card of my mom’s.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield:
16Serving Size:
1 sliceAmount Per Serving: Calories: 404Total Fat: 22gSaturated Fat: 5gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 16gCholesterol: 39mgSodium: 186mgCarbohydrates: 51gFiber: 2gSugar: 32gProtein: 5g
Nutrition Information is estimated based on ingredients used and may not be exact.
Cindi Savage
Wednesday 11th of October 2023
When I googled why my cake cracked on the top, it said because there’s too much baking powder. You may want to adjust that amount in your recipe. I put in 1 1/2 teaspoons.
Good thing in the Bundt cakes I can cut off the top to make it flat, then flip it over and use the bottom for the top.
Happy Baking! Cindi
Stacey
Sunday 15th of October 2023
Typically you can have 1 teaspoon of baking powder per cup of flour in a recipe, since there is also baking soda you use less here. This recipe has enough baking powder for 1 1/2 cups of flour, and the baking soda covers the remaining cup of flour in the recipe. So I think the amount of leavening in this recipe is correct. My cake didn't crack at all when I baked it. Cracking can also occur because the pan is too small, or the oven temperature is too high. So it's possible that your pan was a bit smaller than mine, or your oven temperature isn't calibrated quite right. Or if you baked on a different rack in the oven that can cause cracking as well. I use the middle rack in my oven for this cake. Hope that helps!