Mom’s Chocolate Zucchini Cake ~ Gluten-Free & Vegan options
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Mom’s Chocolate Zucchini Cake is a great reason to grow zucchini. This easy chocolate cake will likely have you going back for seconds. If you prefer a lighter version substitute the butter with 1/2 cup of unsweetened applesauce; no one will ever know.
And if cake isn’t your thing bake some cupcakes with chocolate drizzle. They take just 25 minutes to cook.
There are a lot of things you will love about this chocolate zucchini cake:
1. The rich chocolate flavor
2. It’s easy to make the egg, dairy, and gluten-free versions
3. There are low-fat and low-sugar options
I bet you’ve already guessed I made this cake a time or two ago. Can you think of a better way to use up extra zucchini?
To make Mom’s chocolate zucchini cake gluten-free:
- Substitute the flour with a gluten-free flour blend. Gluten-free flour blends can be purchased at just about any major grocery store, or you can make your own by purchasing the flours separately. Here are some examples at this link, Flour Blends ~ Pre-made mixes to make at home.
- Gluten-free flour blends usually already have xanthan gum or guar gum in the mix, but if not you will need to add it in the recipe. For this recipe, you will need to add 1 1/4 teaspoons.
- Xanthan gum and guar gum are used in gluten-free baking as a thickening, binding, and stabilizing agent.
- I always have great success with King Arthur Measure For Measure Gluten-Free Flour and Pamala’s Products Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour.
If you like, divide the batter into two 8-inch square pans. Nuts and chocolate chips over the top before baking is optional, but delicious. Lining the pans with parchment paper will make removing the cake simple and easy.
What About Egg Free?
- Make this recipe without eggs and get the same satisfying results. Honestly, no one will even know.
- My favorite substitution for eggs is aquafaba, also known as the liquid from canned garbanzo beans. Other substitutions are flax eggs and chia eggs. See more substitutions for eggs and dairy at this link, Milk & Egg Substitutes In Baking and Meal Preparation.
Here are two options that will give you delicious low-sugar results:
1. Monk Fruit Sugar is a simple way to reduce sugar in baking because the measurements are straight across one for one.
2. Stevia In The Raw or Splenda. When using these products, I only replace part of the sugar. I choose to substitute 3/4 cup of sugar, but you could substitute 1 cup instead and still have good results.
Enjoy!
Mom's Chocolate Zucchini Cake ~ Gluten-free option
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter or non-dairy substitute; softened
- ½ cup oil
- 1 ¾ cups sugar or Monk Fruit Sugar for sugar-free
- 2 eggs or 6 Tbsp aquafaba for egg-free
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup sour milk or non-dairy substitute, I use soy milk with 1 Tbsp vinegar
- 2 ½ cups flour or gluten-free blend; add 1 ¼ tsp xanthan gum to the gluten-free flour if it is not included in the blend
- ¼ cup cocoa
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp instant coffee ~ optional
- 2 cups grated zucchini
- ¼ cup mini semi-sweet chocolate chips I used allergy -friendly semi-sweet mini chocolate chips.
- ¼ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips I used allergy friendly dark chocolate chips.
- ¼ cup chopped walnuts ~ optional omit for nut-free
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 325 and prepare 9"x13" pan with a non-stick spray or parchment paper.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl cream together butter, oil, and sugar.
- Add eggs, vanilla, and sour milk. Mix together well.
- Add flour, cocoa, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Mix until just combined, being careful not to overmix.
- Stir in grated zucchini and ¼ cup mini-chocolate chips.
- Pour into prepared pan.
- Sprinkle ¼ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips and chopped nuts overall.
- Bake for 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Let cool to room temperature on a wire rack.
