My chocolate zucchini snack cake is a sweetly decadent summer cake slathered with a tangy cream cheese frosting.
Grab a paper plate and plastic fork and find a shady spot ~ this little chocolate zucchini snack cake is going to rock your summer snacking world!
did somebody say snack cake?
- Cold Chocolate Snack Cake
- Banana Poppy Seed Cake with Lemon Buttercream
- Easy Rhubarb Cake
- Swedish Visiting Cake
- Powdered Sugar Doughnut Cake
- Mixed Berry Cake
what’s needed for chocolate zucchini snack cake
- zucchini
- I grate my zucchini with the shredding disk in my food processor because I like the nice large dry shreds it creates. Do not peel your zucchini first, or drain it after shredding. (The peel adds flavor and nutrition and the moisture in the zucchini makes the cake moist.)
- vegetable oil
- sugar
- eggs
- flour
- Dutch process cocoa powder
- Dutch-process cocoa powder is cocoa powder that has been treated with an alkalizing agent to neutralize its natural acidity, resulting in a smoother, milder flavor and darker color. It’s what gives Oreos their deep chocolate color.
- chocolate chips
- baking powder, baking soda, salt
- cinnamon
- vanilla extract
One bowl chocolate zucchini snack cake
Summer baking should be relaxed and chill so there’s nothing fussy about this little snack cake. Grab and bowl and a whisk and whisk together the wet ingredients, then add the zucchini, chips, and flour. Spread out in a 9×9 baking pan and bake!
Easy cream cheese frosting (with cold cream cheese!)
Most chocolate zucchini cakes are topped with a chocolate frosting. I get it, my Chocolate Zucchini Bread is pretty awesome. But I love the contrast between the rich devil’s food zucchini cake and a tangy cream cheese frosting just as much.
I make my frosting right in my food processor. It’s quick, easy, and lump free. Plus you can use cold cream cheese, which is a huge bonus. Everything should be this easy in summer!
I love to bake with zucchini
My chocolate zucchini snack cake will make a dent in the annual summer zucchini glut, but you’re going to need lots more fabulous zucchini recipes to get through the season!
- Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Perfect Zucchini Muffins
- Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Zucchini Blondies with Penuche Fudge Frosting
- Moist Zucchini Brownies
- Zucchini Cornbread
- The BEST Chocolate Zucchini Bread
- Caramel Frosted Zucchini Pecan Bars
Chocolate Zucchini Snack Cake
Equipment
- 9×9 cake pan
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, Dutch process.
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup chocolate chips
- 1 1/2 cups grated zucchini
cream cheese frosting
- 4 Tbsp salted butter
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 Tbsp vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and either line your pan with parchment paper or butter it. You can also use baking spray if you prefer.
- In a large mixing bowl whisk the eggs. Then whisk in the sugar, cocoa powder, oil, vanilla and cinnamon to combine thoroughly.
- Whisk in the baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Then switch to a silicone spoonula and fold in the flour. When almost finished folding in the flour, add the zucchini and chocolate chips and continue gently folding until there is no dry flour left and the zucchini and chips are evenly incorporated. Don't over mix your batter.
- Turn the batter into your prepared pan and spread out evenly.
- Bake for about 30-35 minutes or until the top springs back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out without wet batter on it (moist crumbs are fine.)
- Let the cake cool on a rack completely before frosting. I like to lift out my cake using the parchment paper for neater frosting and slicing.
make the cream cheese frosting
- I like to use my food processor to make the frosting, in which case I can use cold cream cheese. If you are using electric beaters you will want to soften your cream cheese first. Process or beat the butter and cream cheese together until creamy, then beat in the powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth and creamy. If you want a thicker frosting add a bit more sugar, if you want to thin it down, add a small amount of milk or lemon juice.
- Spread the frosting on the cooled cake and enjoy! Store leftovers in the refrigerator.
I made this once but accidentally used oil that wasn’t the freshest so I’m trying it again. I believe I greased the pan the first time but now that I’m getting ready to make it again, I’m realizing it says nothing about preparing the pan. There’s a picture where you appear to have lined the pan with what I guess is parchment paper which is fine if you intend to remove it from the pan but what if you aren’t? Do I need to grease it?
I clarified that, you can butter or spray your pan.