Vegan Chocolate Zucchini Cake

5 from 18 votes

Vegan Chocolate Zucchini Cake

This vegan chocolate zucchini cake is fudgy and moist, rich and decadent, with a chocolate fudge frosting. You won't believe shredded zucchini sneaked into this batter.

Prep Time20

Cook Time30

Total Time50

Course: Baking, Cake, Dessert

Cuisine: Vegan

Diet: Vegan

Servings:

Calories: 518kcal

Author: Alison Andrews

Ingredients

For the Vegan Chocolate Zucchini Cake:

2 cups All Purpose Flour (250g)
¾ cups Cocoa Powder (65g) Unsweetened
1 ½ cups Light Brown Sugar (300g)
2 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Instant Espresso Powder
¾ tsp Salt
1 Flax Egg 1 Tbsp Ground Flaxseeds + 3 Tbsp Hot Water
2 cups Shredded Zucchini (280g)
⅓ cup Vegan Mayonnaise (80ml)
½ cup Vegetable Oil (120ml) or Canola Oil
1 Tbsp Distilled White Vinegar or Apple Cider Vinegar
2 tsp Vanilla Extract

For the Chocolate Fudge Frosting:

½ cup Vegan Butter (112g)
4 cups Powdered Sugar (480g)
¾ cup Cocoa Powder (65g) Unsweetened
5 Tbsp Soy Milk or other non-dairy milk
2 tsp Vanilla Extract

For Decoration:

Vegan Chocolate Chips
Vegan Chocolate Sprinkles

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
Spray two 8 inch cake pans with non-stick spray and line the bottoms with parchment paper and set aside.
Sift the flour and cocoa powder into a mixing bowl and add the sugar, baking soda, baking powder, espresso powder and salt and mix together.
Prepare your flax egg by mixing 1 Tbsp ground flaxseed meal with 3 Tbsp hot water from the kettle and allowing to sit for a minute until it gets gloopy.
Add the flax egg, shredded zucchini, vegan mayonnaise, oil, vinegar and vanilla to the mixing bowl. Mix into a batter. It will be very thick. Have patience because the moisture from the shredded zucchinis will gradually seep through the batter creating enough moisture to mix everything together, it will be very thick, but you'll be able to mix it all in.
Divide the batter between the two prepared cake pans and spread it out evenly to the edges with a spatula or the back of a spoon.
Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one of the cakes comes out clean.
Allow your cakes to cool in the cake pans for at least 10 minutes before you remove them from the pans as they will be slightly fragile.
Transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely before frosting.
Prepare your frosting by adding the vegan butter, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, soy milk and vanilla extract to the bowl of an electric mixer and starting at slow speed gradually increase speed until it's thick and smooth. This is a thick fudgy frosting. If it's too thick though add a tiny bit more non-dairy milk until you reach a spreadable consistency.
Frost the cakes and decorate with vegan chocolate chips and sprinkles.

Notes

Instant espresso powder can be subbed for instant coffee powder or omitted altogether if you prefer.
Weigh your flour (and your zucchini) for the most accurate results.
Keep the cake covered at room temperature where it will stay perfectly fresh for 2-3 days or covered in the fridge where it will stay good for up to 5 days. It's also freezer friendly for 2 months.
Nutritional information includes frosting but excludes decorations like chocolate chips and sprinkles.

Nutrition