This chocolate courgette cake is absolutely scrumptious! Light, fluffy and with a vanilla icing that’s out of this world, you’ll be amazed at how well courgette works when used as a cake ingredient.
So, get that apron on and get baking!
Why you’ll love this recipe
- The sponge is light and has a wonderfully chocolatey flavour
- The vanilla icing is to die for
- You can amaze your friends and family with the unexpectedly yummy taste
Equipment needed to make this recipe
There are a few key kitchen items you’ll need for this chocolate courgette cake recipe:
- 20 x 35cm (8 x 14in) baking tin – you’ll need the right size loaf tin for this chocolate courgette cake recipe
- Weighing scales – good set of kitchen scales is essential when it comes to cake-making
- Measuring spoons – use measuring spoons when measuring out your ingredients, as they give you greater accuracy
- Box grater – you’ll need this to grate your courgette
- Mixing bowls – every baker needs a few quality mixing bowls to hand
- Silicone spatula – a good silicone spatula gives you flexibility when mixing your ingredients
- Hand whisk – a hand whisk is essential for whisking your wet ingredients
- Sieve – you’ll need this for sieving your flour
- Cooling rack – the all-important cooling rack for cooling your cake
Ingredients you need to make this recipe
There are a few special ingredients you’ll need to get hold of for this recipe:
- Cocoa powder – you’ll need good quality cocoa powder for this recipe. Go for organic
- Chocolate chips – high calibre chocolate chips really make a difference to the overall quality of this cake
- Vanilla extract – again, good quality really pays off here. Extract instead of essence is the way to go, as you’ll really get that incredible vanilla flavour
How to make chocolate courgette cake
Great the courgette. A food processor would make your life easier.
Whisk the butter, oil and sugars together.
Whisk in the eggs, milk and vanilla extract.
Gently fold in the dry ingredients.
You should be left with a smooth chocolatey cake batter.
Gently fold in the grated courgette and chocolate chips.
Transfer the contents to a baking dish and bake.
Remove from the oven when cooked. A toothpick should come out clean. Cool completely.
Prepare the vanilla icing.
Slather on the icing.
Decorate with walnut pieces.
What to serve with this chocolate courgette cake recipe
This cake goes down spectacularly well with a cup of tea or coffee! If you want to pair it with a wine, go for a dessert wine or a dark-fruited red. You could even pair it with a delicious glass of Amarula cocktail!
Popular substitutions for this recipe
- You can substitute vanilla extract for vanilla bean paste
- If you prefer, you can use coconut sugar in place of caster sugar and soft brown sugar
- Use wholemeal flour in place of white flour for a slightly healthier alternative. You just need to add an extra ½ tsp of baking powder
Variations for this recipe
- For a gluten free chocolate courgette cake, use gluten free flour
- Use slightly more or less sugar, based on your personal preferences
- Add a teaspoon of mixed spice to give this cake a whole new dimension!
Top Tips
- Always use a good quality set of weighing scales to weigh your ingredients. The same with measuring spoons, which are more accurate than standard teaspoons. Precision really is key
- Use room temperature eggs and butter. You’ll notice the difference
- I used dark chocolate chips, you can omit them, or you can use milk or white chocolate chips if you like instead
- For the best flavour, make sure to use a good quality vanilla extract and not an essence. You can also use a vanilla bean paste
Do I use plain flour or self raising flour?
As we use baking powder with this recipe, there’s no need for self raising flour. So, plain flour it is!
Why use vegetable oil?
Using vegetable oil in baking is a great way to make sure the cake comes out moist. This is because oil remains liquid at room temperature, whereas butter solidifies.
Still, it’s hard to beat the taste of butter! So, for this recipe, I like to get the best of both worlds and use vegetable oil and butter.
How do you grate courgette?
Grating courgette is simple. You just need a box grater, then you can grate it by hand. You don’t even need to peel courgettes beforehand – just grate away!
If you prefer, you can use a food processor with a grater attachment to grate your courgettes.
How do you store chocolate courgette cake?
This chocolate courgette cake needs to be stored in an airtight container. Keep it in a cool dry place.
How long does it last?
This cake will keep fresh for up to three days.
Can you freeze it?
If you want to keep it longer than three days, you’ll need to freeze it. Freezing this chocolate cake is certainly possible – although, keep it mind, you will lose some of the taste and texture.
To freeze this cake, cut it into slices and place squares of baking paper between the slices. Then store in an airtight freezable container and freeze for up to three months.
Can I make it in advance?
Absolutely! You can make this cake up to three days in advance. If you do want to make it ahead of time, I recommend leaving the icing stage until you’re almost ready to serve it.
More delicious chocolate cake recipes
Chocoholics rejoice! If you’re one of the those people who can never get enough chocolate, here’s some more inspiration for you:
- Black forest gateau – the kind of decadent chocolate cakes
- Chocolate orange brownies – these little heavenly bites are very easy to whip up and nigh-on impossible to resist
- African Prince pie – a chocolate dessert that’s fit for royalty
- Chocolate concrete – an old-school classic that has stood the test of time. Serve it with this pink custard for a delicious blast from the past
Chocolate Courgette Cake Recipe
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 12 servings 1x
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This healthy Chocolate Courgette Cake is topped with a light vanilla icing and walnut halves. Perfect for tea time.
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 120g (½ cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 125ml (½ cup) sunflower oil
- 100g (½ cup) caster sugar
- 200g (1 cup) soft brown sugar
- 3 eggs, lightly beaten
- 125ml (½ cup) milk
- 5ml (1 tsp) vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients
- 350g (1¾ cups) plain flour
- 8g (2 tsp) baking powder
- 30g (4 tbsp) cocoa powder
- 450g (1lb) courgettes, peeled and finely grated
- 100g (3½oz) chocolate chips
Vanilla Icing
- 150g (⅔ cup) unsalted butter, softened
- 10ml (2 tsp) vanilla extract
- 375g (3 cups) icing sugar
- cocoa powder, for decoration
- 12 walnut halves [optional]
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 190°C/fan 170°C/ fan 375°F/gas mark 4.
- Put the butter, oil and both sugars in a bowl and beat them together until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the eggs and then the milk and vanilla. Set aside.
- Sift the flour, baking powder and cocoa powder together.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the wet mixture.
- Give the grated courgettes a squeeze to remove excess water.
- Stir in the courgettes and vanilla.
- Tip the mixture into a 20 x 35xm (8 x 14in) baking tin lined with baking parchment.
- Bake in the oven for 50-55 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove the tin from the oven and let it cool for 5 minutes.
- Place the cooling rack on top of the tin and slowly turn it over. Cover with a clean tea towel, set aside and let the cake cool completely.
- Vanilla Icing: Meanwhile, whisk the butter, vanilla and icing sugar in a large bowl until fully combined. The icing should double in size and be light and fluffy.
- Slather the icing on top of the cake, sprinkle with cocoa powder and decorate with walnuts.
- Slice and serve immediately. Enjoy!
Notes
- Milk, as well as dark chocolate, chips will work in this recipe.
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: British
Keywords: chocolate courgette cake, chocolate zucchini cake, chocolate courgette loaf, zucchini cake, vegetable zucchini cake, courgette cake recipe, summer cake recipe, courgette glut recipe, chocolate marrow cake
chocolate shavings
That cake sounds amazing and what a cute photo of your son is adorable!
Adventures of Alice
This looks delicious! I’ve made cookies and bread with courgettes, I’ll now have to try cakes! Thanks for sharing this recipes
WizzyTheStick
Who can blame your son. Just look at that lovely picture. I want to dive right in it myself!
Carmen
This sounds yum. Have made courgette and walnut loaf before – that’s delicious, comes out kind of gingery and not dissimilar to carrot cake.
Cooking with the kids so much stress yet so muh fun all rolled into one 😀 You can’t beat the expression on their faces 😉
Jonathan
What a great recipe and I cannot believe what a cool picture of your son that is. Nice stuff.
What’s the story about using courgette? Does it make it lighter?
Jonathan
What a great recipe and I cannot believe what a cool picture of your son that is. Nice stuff.
What’s the story about using courgette? Does it make it lighter?
Robyn
Very interesting! I’m not normally a courgette fan but looking at Gabriel and the fun he’s having..
Samantha
I have only tried making chocolate cake with beetroot and it tastes lovely (with a hint of maroon). Will have to give courgette a try then. By the way, Gabriel looked so adorable!
Renil M. George
I love chocolate cake.
★★★★★
michelle
Me too. You don’t even taste the courgettes here 🙂
Serena
sound super healthy!!!!!!! xoxoxoxo