Chocolate Zucchini Cake Recipe (Swiss Roll Cake Style)

This chocolate zucchini cake recipe gets dressed up with easy to make whipped cream filling. It's fancy enough for company, but simple enough to make any time you have extra zucchini.

Our family loves this cake. It has a great texture – moist, but light (no zucchini bricks) – and is not too sweet.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake Recipe

You can make this cake a day ahead and store it in the refrigerator until you're ready to serve.

Ingredients

Cake:

• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup baking cocoa
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup shredded zucchini

Filling:

• 1 cup whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup confectioners sugar (powdered sugar)

Additional confectioners sugar for dusting

Directions

In a large bowl, beat eggs, vanilla extract, almond extract, and sugar. Combine flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.

Add dry ingredients to egg mixture and blend well. (Batter will be thick.) Stir in shredded zucchini.

Spread batter into a greased and wax paper lined 15 in x 10 in x 1 in baking pan.

Bake at 350℉ for 10 to 15 minutes, or until cake springs back when lightly touched.

Remove chocolate zucchini cake from oven and turn onto a linen towel dusted with confectioners sugar.

Peel off waxed paper and roll up, jelly roll style, starting with a short side.

Cool completely to room temperature on a wire rack.

In a mixing bowl, whip cream. Blend in confectioners sugar and vanilla extract. (Homemade extract is great if you have it.)

Unroll cake gently, and spread filling to within 1 inch of the edges. Roll up again and place seam side down on the serving platter. Dust with confectioners sugar. Refrigerate until serving.

Variations

The default filling is sweetened whipped cream, but you could also use ice cream. (Chocolate cake with mint chocolate chip ice cream anyone?) Just let the ice cream soften slightly before spreading it on the chocolate zucchini cake. Store the cake in the freezer.

We dust ours with confectioners sugar to finish, but you can also use chocolate frosting or chocolate ganache.

Zucchini Tips

Sometimes I peel the zucchini, sometimes not. If you have a zucchini with tough peels, go ahead and take them off. If you have fussy eaters who would turn their noses up at green bits in cake, peel the zucchini.

I prefer to use large, club sized zucchini, as they have a milder, less veggie taste. Remove the seeds before shredding with a grater or food processor.

It's fine to use previously frozen zucchini. Just thaw before using and bring to room temperature. Cold zucchini will increase baking time. Sometimes I use a 2 cup package of frozen zucchini, and drain off enough water to get the volume down to one cup.

Why add zucchini to cake?

Besides getting in extra healthy veggies, and using up overgrown produce, adding zucchini adds moisture and richness to the cake.

If you don't have shredded zucchini, you can substitute applesauce or pumpkin puree.

Print Friendly Recipe

Print

Does the chocolate zucchini cake need to be refrigerated?

Because this cake has a whipped cream filling, you need to store it in the refrigerator or freezer. For best quality, use within 2-3 days. Freeze for longer storage (or if you opt for ice cream filling).

More than Chocolate Zucchini Cake – Extra Zucchini Recipes

When the garden is overflowing with zucchini, it's great to have plenty of zucchini recipes. Some of our favorites include:

• Mom's Zucchini bread – always moist and delicious
• Zucchini gummy candy – sweetened with fruit juice concentrate
• Mock “apple” pie made with zucchini
• Cheesy Garlic Zucchini Bread
• Zucchini “apple” crisp