This rich and delicious, Gluten-Free Chocolate Zucchini Cake, with a divine, soft texture, is so good that it doesn’t even need a frosting or glaze. It’s perfect as is!Do zucchini breads and cakes taste like zucchini?
Nope, not really — but, here’s the deal, zucchini is naturally moist and in many ways it’s similar to oil in its baking characteristics, so it makes for a moist, luscious cake!
If you have a summer garden, it’s very likely you have more than enough zucchini on your hands. So I’m told, anyway. We do have a summer garden, but no zucchini this year — my 12-year-old agriculturist has planted peppers and tomatoes! (Garden recipes for those coming soon.)If you’ve been following my recipes for a while, you know one of my boys has Celiac Disease, which is why I make so many cookies and other desserts sans gluten.
He told me last night that this Chocolate Zucchini Cake is his new favorite. And he’s a tough crowd, so I know you and your friends and family will love it too!
- 1 cup (2 sticks) plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted, divided
- ⅔ cup plus 1 tablespoon cocoa powder, sifted, divided
- 1½ cups gluten-free all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2¾ cups grated zucchini
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and adjust a rack to the center.
- Add 1 tablespoon of the melted butter to a 10-inch bundt pan and move it around and so it's completely coated. (Using a pastry brush or your hands will help.) Then sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the cocoa powder as evenly as possible over the butter. Set aside.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, combine the remaining ⅔ cup cocoa powder, gluten-free flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Stir until everything is evenly incorporated and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to beat the eggs, sugar, vanilla and salt together. Mix on high until it's a thick and pale yellow, about 2 minutes. Once it's blended add the sour cream and mix until it's smooth.
- Gradually fold the dry ingredients into the wet, mixing just until everything is well incorporated.
- Now fold in the remaining 1 cup melted butter.
- Use your hands to "ring out" the zucchini, to remove some of the liquid -- only what seems to drip off easily. Fold the zucchini into the batter and then immediately pour into the prepared bunt pan.
- Place in the preheated 350 degree F oven until the cake no longer jiggles when the pan is moved, and it's starting to crack on top, about 35 minutes.
- Let it cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then invert it on a large platter. Let it cool for about an hour before serving.