You’re either going to love me or hate me for this post. Why? Because this grain-free chocolate cake which just so happens to have zucchini in it is AMAZING. You will love how rich and chocolaty it is, how moist and tender. You will be utterly amazed that this cake has no flour of any kind and that there is zucchini in it. Zucchini! It is sweetened with maple syrup and that’s all. After your first bite, you might exclaim, “Three cheers for Pamela!”
Orrrrrrr, you will find this cake, which is more like a cross between a brownie and cake, completely irresistible and TOO amazing. You will walk by it on the countertop and find the uncontrollable need to even out all the edges until you are left with a mere crumb. But you’ll convince yourself it’s healthful! It contains almond butter and zucchini. Zucchini! And you will not be able to stop eating it. The next time you make it you will freeze most of it so that you are not tempted by its chocolaty goodness and inhale three-fourths of it before the kids get home. But you cannot stop dreaming about this cake so you find out it even taste good FROZEN because there is no waiting when it comes to this cake. And after you eat all of the frozen cake, you might exclaim, “I curse the day I met Pamela! Darn this chocolate amazingness!”
And that’s what I’m talking about.
Even Mr. Picky himself went crazy for this cake. I actually came clean and told him there was zucchini in here and he didn’t care!! If you are nut-free, don’t sweat. Substitute sunflower butter in an equal amount and it will work perfectly. Sunflower butter does have a slightly nuttier flavor, almost like peanut butter. But I when I made the cake with sunflower butter for some nut-free people, they couldn’t detect it. Make it. Devour it. Love it. Share it. Tell me all about it.
Grain-free Chocolate Zucchini Cake Recipe and VIDEO
Ingredients
- coconut oil or butter for greasing pan
- 1 cup creamy, unsweetened, unsalted almond butter, raw or roasted, or sunflower butter for a nut-free cake
- 1/3 cup pure Grade A maple syrup or raw honey
- ¼ cup raw cacao or cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon fine ground sea salt
- 1 teaspoon instant coffee powder, optional
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups of shredded zucchini, about 2 small
- 1 cup dark or semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease an 8 x 8 or 9 x 9-inch pan. If you want to remove the cake from the pan in one piece, line it with unbleached parchment paper as well.
- In a large bowl combine the almond butter, maple syrup, cacao powder, salt, coffee powder, egg, vanilla, and baking soda until smooth.
- Stir in zucchini and chocolate chips.
- Pour into prepared pan and bake until just set and a toothpick comes out clean or with dry crumbs. Do not overbake. A 9 x 9 pan will take 35-45 minutes. An 8 x 8 pan will take 40-50 minutes. Allow to cool before serving.
Notes
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
Amazing recipe!!! I’m not a baseball fan but got to say this is a Home Run of a dessert! Made it for dinner dessert today and no one believed me that there was no grains. I try not to eat any grains so this recipe appealed to me. So glad I tried it and so easy!! Thank you!!
Isn’t this cake exciting? We all love it here. So happy you did, too. 🙂
I am currently making this for the third time (in a month!). It’s amazingly delicious. I’m going to try them as cupcakes for my 2 year olds birthday. Thanks for a great recipe!
Yippee!!
I substituted the almond butter for sunflower seed butter and if was yummy as well.
Glad you liked it!!
Delish and wonderfully moist!
My kids loved it and no one knew it
had zucchini in it!
Thank you for another great recipe!
I baked it this afternoon…used grade a maple syrup, dark cocoa powder, guittard chips…turned out absolutely delicious. I poured 1/2 the batter in, sprinkled 1/2 cup of chips, then the other half and the rest of the chips on top….so it looked really “chippy.” My kids loved it. Great recipe – thank you!
THREE CHEERS FOR PAMELA!!!! Having said that, I am very very afraid to make this as I know the result will be EXACTLY as you described it….but of course cannot resist…looks AMAZZZING. Yummm.Thanks!!!
This is insanely delicious! As my friend Chrissy said, it’s like magic. And super easy to make too – YUM!
Thanks. I am mad crazy for it. Can’t make it too much because I’ll eat the whole thing!
Hi Pamela,
I wanted to suggest a coffee substitute that is gluten free – Dandy Blend. Of all the coffee alternatives I think it’s the closest taste-wise. It’s especially delicious with a splash of coconut milk over ice!
Thank you for the recipe, perfect timing as we head into the summer zucchini glut!
Jill
Pamela,
Have you tried this with peanut butter? I have to avoid almonds. Thanks!
Only because EVERY SINGLE dish of yours that I have made is a keeper will I be trying this cake, haha. And I already know it will be delicious!!!
Pamela,
First let me start off by saying that I love you no matter what! However, any suggestions for decreasing the choc chips or substitutions for making this a little more ‘diabetic’ friendly?
I make this regularly and people who live processed food and are weird about zucchini in their cake have no idea there’s zucchini in there or that this is isn’t processed at all. I love it! Make it for myself, my friends, my pregnant neighbour with 3 children aged 14 months to 5 years old and my own 14 month old son. Very confident feeding this to children knowing what’s in it! ❤️
Love **