Healthier, super moist, honey sweetened chocolate zucchini cake with a special and simple ganache made out of coconut oil, cocoa powder, Greek yogurt and honey!
I’m totally new to the world of zucchini in baked goods. I can do carrot cake (like this whole wheat carrot cake) because the carrots are hidden, but I was nervous about this one.
It worked out well, though! It was awesome and I can’t wait to try other zucchini recipes. Especially ones with chocolate. ;) Update: these zucchini brownies (which are also whole wheat and can be made gluten-free) are now my favorite zucchini goodie!)
Zucchini and veggies just aren’t my thing. If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I bought a cucumber, thinking it was a zucchini. What can I say? They’re both long and green. Thank goodness Mr. Texanerin questioned my cucumber intentions!
Or else there would’ve been cucumber cake. Yuck. Actually, I dislike zucchini too so maybe it doesn’t really matter. And by the way, you can not taste the zucchini in this zucchini cake. You can believe me when I say I would not eat this if you could.
So that’s what the cake looks like without the ganache. A bit boring, yes? And weird. The second cake I made came out looking normal. Without all those little holes. I had to make the cake twice.
The first time I used a 6 cup bundt pan (it halves wonderfully!), thinking it wouldn’t work out. But then it did. And since I can’t just guess the baking times, I had to bake it a second time using a normal 12 cup bundt pan.
So much better, isn’t it?! And oh oh oh! This ganache… it’s not really ganache. Ganache = chocolate + cream. This is cocoa powder, honey, coconut oil, and Greek yogurt. Yeah! :D It sets like normal ganache, but you should keep it in the fridge because of the yogurt. And it honestly tastes just like real ganache.
If you want something with chocolate and zucchini that’s gluten-free, try this gluten-free zucchini bread! It looks amazing.
Oh, and here’s a little lesson for you.
How to sneak pieces of cake before taking photos because of bad lighting situations:
Just make sure to leave little gaps so your cake doesn’t collapse. :)
100% Whole Grain Chocolate Zucchini Cake with Greek Yogurt Honey Chocolate Ganache
- Prep Time:
- Cook Time:
- Ready in:
- Yield: 12-14 pieces
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup (177ml) olive oil or canola oil
- 1 cup (320 grams) honey
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 3/4 cup (177ml) Greek yogurt
- 290 grams whole wheat flour (this was about 2 cups or 2 1/4 cups)
- 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 90 grams Dutch-process cocoa powder (about 3/4 cup cocoa)
- 3 cups (for me, this was 340 grams) grated, peeled zucchini1
- 1 cup (180 grams) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 80 grams (1/4 cup) honey
- 50 grams (3 1/2 tablespoons) coconut oil
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 cup (30 grams) Dutch-process cocoa powder
- 2-4 tablespoons Greek yogurt
Zucchini cake:
Ganache:
Directions
- Grease a 12 cup bundt pan or 6 cup if you want to make half. Preheat your oven to 350°F / 176°C. For the cake, combine the honey, oil, and vanilla in a large bowl. At first it'll be difficult to get the honey incorporated, but it'll work. Stir in the eggs and then the Greek yogurt. Set this bowl aside.
- In another large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients. Sift the cocoa powder into the bowl if it's lumpy, or just use a fork to get rid of the lumps. Add the wet mix to the dry mix and stir, just until combined. Fold in the zucchini and the chocolate chips.
- Bake the full recipe for 40 minutes, or if using half, bake for 30 minutes. When you insert a toothpick in the middle, the toothpick will not come out dry, or even with crumbs, but it'll come out covered in sticky batter. If you insert it, and it's just normal batter, it's not ready. Sticky batter is what we're looking for! It'll continue to cook once it's out of the oven.
- Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then flip out onto a wire rack to cool. Cool completely before putting on the ganache. If using the following ganache recipe, store cake covered in the fridge. Otherwise, room temperature is fine.
- For the ganache: Over low heat, melt the honey and coconut oil and in a medium saucepan or pot. When melted, add the vanilla and then the cocoa powder. Stir until thoroughly combined. It might look weird, like it isn't combining. The first time I made it, I used too much coconut oil and poured some out and everything was fine. The recipe reflects how I made it the second time with less coconut oil, and had no problem with excess oil.
- Place in the fridge for 5 minutes. Take out and add a tablespoon of Greek yogurt at a time, stirring after every one. For me, just under three tablespoons was enough. It should be pourable at this point. Not too hot and not too cold. Pour over the cake and store any leftovers in the fridge.
Notes
- The first time, I grated the zucchini. The second time, I put it through the food processor using the super finer grater. But it really came out more like puree. With the puree, I used 1.5 cups because that's what 340 grams came out to. I think I actually preferred it with the grated zucchini. The texture just seemed better and the little pieces disappeared anyway, so you can still trick people. :)
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91 comments on “100% Whole Grain Chocolate Zucchini Cake with Greek Yogurt Honey Chocolate Ganache” — Add one!
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that is awesome!! I love how you showed how to carve out pieces of cake :)
I just made a chocolate zucchini bread, but haven't had a chance to taste or photograph yet. I am thinking I need to do more with this zucchini and chocolate thing!
Wonderful cake! Yogurt to make ganache is both unique and healthy :)Delish!
Greek yogurt in ganache??? I've but one thing to say: B.R.I.L.L.I.A.N.T!
Love it. Absolutely LOVE it. This cake looks so yummy, I'm drooling all over my brain here. And for the record, I think the "naked" cake looks unbelievably good, not weird at all. It lets you see the texture of the cake, which does look like it's very dense and "wet".
My kinda cake. I will definitely have to try it (with a few little tweaks, of course…)
Oh, and I can't believe you showed us the holes. I couldn't help but start laughing. That IS a lesson indeed! And a very valuable one at that!
oh my, this looks WONDERFUL! that ganache looks to-die-for. NOM!
JulieD – Thank you! It is fun to take something so unhealthy and make it… less unhealthy. :)
Barbara – I can never ever take pictures in the kitchen. There are two huge windows, but somehow, it's never light enough in there. I have to take everything to the bedroom/living room. When we go apartment searching again, lighting in a big issue. Need a sunny place! I hope your lighting experiments go well. :)
Cassie – Yes, dense! I forgot to add that to the post. I don't normally like fluffy cake. This is wonderfully dense.
Heidi – Oh. That stinks. Since I have to eat all this stuff by myself, making stuff twice isn't going to happen. Don't be sorry about zucchini week! It sounds fun. :) And thank you for the nice words. :)
Becca – Thank you! So happy to have taught someone the very important skill of being sneaky. Yay!
Julie – Thanks! I was too impatient to wait to take pictures. Hence the ultra glossiness. :)
Ali – Thank you! :)
This is absolutely beautiful! Looks delicious!
holy yum. this looks SO good. i love how fudgey it is and that chocolate ganache is so pretty. i love how glossy it is!
Oh my goodness. Everything in this post is beyond fantastic. The pictures are beautiful, the milk jug is so cute, the "ganache" looks positively decadent, and now I know how to sneak bits of food :)
Oh my goodness… <3! First - Great minds think alike. Chocolate + zucchini! Awesome! Second - I am so amazed by your cake sneaking skills. I try to take pictures of things asap but it doesn't always work out. Sometimes I make things twice before I get to take pictures, it's kind of sad. Lastly, I'm sorry that this week is all about zucchini on FD. Oh and one more thing... That ganache is incredible!! Beautiful cake :D
This looks so dense and fudgy Erin! I love baking with zucchini!
only natural light? wow… my kitchen is always too dark (it faces North) so I have to use the balcony all the time – but in the winter no light even there… really hope I can find good artificial lights and if I do I will share what I have learnt.
Ooh, this looks so good!! Loving seeing your versions of healthy desserts!
Barbara – Thank you! Ganache pouring has always been a challenge for me. This time I was just lucky. And I only use natural light. I've tried making a light box and making DIY Ego lights and neither one worked for me. Let me know if you do get some kind of lighting setup. I'd love to know how it works! We're both in the same boat when it comes to light pretty soon. It gets dark up there early and over here, it's just constantly gray. We've seriously gone weeks before without any sun. Just grayness. Whenever I wake up and it's actually sunny, I have to run to the kitchen and bake, bake, bake.
Lauren – The ganache is amazing! You have to try it. I couldn't believe that it actually tastes like ganache and not some healthified watery bittery… something. :)
Spencer – I bet you would! But you really can't taste the zucchini. I was sure you kill any veggie taste. Can't have that around here. :)
Natasha – Haha. Well I'm happy I called it the right thing. I had it typed up as milk _____________ for the last week. I just went with jug. Thanks for playing along with my silly ideas. :D
Shelly – I promise you can't taste it! It tastes the same as if using canola oil. When you taste the batter, you can taste it, but once baked, that yucky taste goes away. :) And yeah, having you at the tea party would've been fun! We only had Maker's Mark, though. No tea.
Miryam – You should post your version! I'd love to try it. And this was my first time baking with zucchini! Definitely won't be the last. I hope you like the apricot muffins. :)
Jessica – Thanks! There's not much yogurt but at least it adds something. :)
I love the sound of this ganache! Great idea to use yogurt and coconut oil!
This is just awesome!! The ganache topping is my favorite. I make something similar but never posted it in the blog :-) Could you believe I have never baked with zucchini before? I need to.
This is a big contender on my list, however the apricot and almond muffins you made a while back need to be baked this week for sure :-) Will let you know how they turn out.
Well, olive oil in a cake? I need to try it!
I didn't know about the tea party! I need to be better about social media :)
HAHAHAHA I love the milk jug and I love love love your sneaky cake eating tricks :-D
Looks absolutely delicious! I love the combination of chocolate and zucchini so I know I would love this!
There's nothing about this cake that I don't love… and that ganache? Gorgeous! A must-make, for sure =).
I want it!!!!
amazing to make something all-wheat look so wonderful. and I will follow you on facebook asap. you did such a lovely job with that ganache. and about lighting, I am on the verge of buying a professional light, do you already use one? (any suggestion is deeply appreciated)
xox