This Chocolate Zucchini Bundt Cake is insanely moist, so fudgy, and loaded with chocolate flavor! No one will even know there’s 2 whole cups of shredded zucchini hiding inside! Delicious with chocolate glaze, but can easily be served with whipped cream or a dusting of powdered sugar instead!

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Summer is coming! And to us bakers, that means zucchini season is coming!

I look forward to this time of year all year long! Because I LOVE baking with zucchini! Shredded zucchini adds a ton of moisture to baked goods, without adding any flavor. Seriously, I promise you your baked goods won’t taste like zucchini!

Sure, everyone makes zucchini bread. But have you ever baked zucchini cheddar scones? Or zucchini chocolate cupcakes? Heck, I even have a recipe for zucchini bread BREAKFAST cookies!

Zucchini is such an amazing addition to baked goods! And I seriously don’t think I’ll ever stop dreaming up new zucchini recipes!

But one thing I’ve been missing? A solid chocolate zucchini bundt cake! I have a great chocolate zucchini cake, but it’s pretty labor intensive and requires lots of assembly. I also have a great chocolate bundt cake, but it’s more of a pound cake than a light and fluffy cake.

So my goal was to combine the two and create something new and amazing! And after 3 epic fails, I finally did! This cake is SO moist and it’s loaded with rich chocolate flavor. Plus, it’s made with basic everyday ingredients you probably have in your kitchen right now!

So bust out your bundt pan and jump to the recipe below!

Tips for Baking the Best Zucchini Bundt

• Bring all of your ingredients to room temperature before you plan on baking! This means of course your butter, but also your eggs and sour cream! I like to set them out at least 30 minutes before I plan on baking.
• Be sure to sift your dry ingredients! In this recipe, that’ll be your flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and espresso powder! Sifting allow you to get out any lumps that could cause over mixing down the road.
• When you add the eggs, add them one at a time. Do the same thing with the yolks. You can save the egg whites for an omelette or use them in another recipe like white cake!
• And be sure to scrape down the bowl of your stand mixer in-between each addition. Scraping the sides AND bottom of the bowl ensures all of the ingredients are being evenly mixed together. And no little pockets are getting stuck at the bottom.
• Spray your bundt pan WELL!!! Use a nonstick baking spray and don’t leave any nook or cranny uncoated. There’s nothing worse than going through the process of baking a cake just to have it cling to the cake pan and not come out. Trust me!

• For best results, weigh your ingredients will a digital scale. Otherwise your cake may vary from how mine turned out.
• Bake for about 65 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean! If your oven runs low, it could take up to 75 minutes! And if your oven runs hot, it could be done as soon as 1 hour!
• Cool the cake, in the mold, for 20 minutes! Then carefully remove from the pan and cool completely. 20 minutes is the magic number, so set a time!
• This cake takes about 1 hour to cool completely! So while this cake recipe is relatively easy, it does take some planning ahead of time.

Decorate your heart out!

As you can see, I decorated the top of the cake with a shiny chocolate sauce! But feel free to add sprinkles, jimmies, mini chocolate chips, etc! This is your cake, so decorate with whatever floats your boat!

Or, if you’re looking for a less decadent cake, you can skip the glaze completely! I’ve served this cake plain, with whipped cream and fresh berries, and with powdered sugar lightly sprinkled on top. It’s pretty much delicious anyway you serve it!

This cake will stay moist for up to 5 days! So it’s definitely make-ahead friendly! I don’t love the way it freezes, but feel free to wrap it in saran and pop it in the fridge for up to a week. Enjoy cold or bring to room temperature!

More Zucchini Recipes:

• Brown Butter Zucchini Bread with Orange Blossom Ginger Buttercream
• Nutella Stuffed Chocolate Chunk Zucchini Muffins
• Healthy Greek yogurt Zucchini Pancakes
• Chocolate Chip Zucchini Scones
• Rigatoni with Sausage, Tomatoes, and Zucchini

Chocolate Zucchini Bundt Cake

Ashley Manila

This Chocolate Zucchini Bundt Cake is insanely moist, so fudgy, and loaded with chocolate flavor! No one will even know there's 2 whole cups of shredded zucchini hiding inside! Delicious with chocolate glaze, but can easily be served with whipped cream or a dusting of powdered sugar instead!

5 from 9 votes

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Prep Time 30 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Inactive Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 2 hours hrs 35 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 12 slices

Ingredients

 

For the Chocolate Zucchini Bundt Cake:

• 2 and 3/4 cups (320 grams) all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder (46 grams)
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 and 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon espresso powder
• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature (227 grams)
• 1 cup granulated sugar (200 grams)
• 1 cup light brown sugar, packed (213 grams)
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs plus 2 egg yolks, at room temperature
• 2 cups shredded zucchini, coarsely grated (275 grams)
• 1 cup sour cream, at room temperature (227 grams)
• 3/4 cup chocolate chips (125 grams)

For the Espresso Chocolate Glaze:

• 1 cup (170 grams) semi-sweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 2/3 cup (152 grams) heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon espresso powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Instructions

 

For the Chocolate Zucchini Bundt Cake:

• Position a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat oven to 325 degrees (F). 
• Generously grease a 10-cup Bundt Cake pan with non-stick baking spray. Set aside. 
• In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and espresso powder. Set aside. 
• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or in a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Gradually add in the sugars and beat on medium-high speed until well combined, about 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, then beat for another 30 seconds. Beat in the vanilla. 
• Add in the eggs and egg yolks, one at time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl as needed. 
• On low speed, add in the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the sour cream in two additions, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix until just combined! 
• Using a rubber spatula, fold in the zucchini and chocolate chips, mixing just until combined. Then scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula. 
• Bake for 65 to 70 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Cool in the cake pan, on a wire rack, for 20 minutes. Unmold the cake onto the cooling rack, turn the cake right side up, and cool completely. 

For the Espresso Chocolate Glaze:

• Finely chop the chocolate and place it in a small heatproof bowl. Set aside. 
• Warm the cream over medium heat until it comes to a boil. Add in the espresso powder and whisk smooth.
• Pour the cream over the chopped chocolate and let it sit for 1 minute, then whisk smooth. Whisk in the vanilla, if using. 
• Slowly pour the glaze over the cake, letting it drip down the sides. Then sprinkle with mini chocolate chips.
• Allow the glaze to set for 20 minutes before slicing and serving! 
• Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days, or in the fridge for up to 5 days. 

Video

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