This low carb chocolate zucchini cake recipe is the best way to use up all that summer zucchini. Rich and moist, with a gorgeous chocolate glaze, it just may be the best keto chocolate cake recipe ever! Updated recipe with a how-to video. Dairy-free options too.
This low carb chocolate zucchini cake is so rich and moist, it makes me do the happy dance. I don’t get out much! My town just north of Boston isn’t the most exciting place to live. It’s what you might call a little sleepy. There isn’t much happening here and for a city kid who grew up around the hustle and bustle of downtown Toronto, it’s often too quiet. It’s a good location with a good school system for my kids, but I find it a bit too suburban for my tastes. There is one thing, however, that I absolutely adore about it, and that’s our really great farmer’s market. It’s a surprisingly good one, with a wide variety of vendors. It was brand new the first year we lived in the area, and it’s grown to be one of the more popular markets in all the surrounding towns. And now it extends well beyond the summer and into October.
How To Make Low Carb Chocolate Zucchini Cake
Because it’s New England, our growing season is short and our produce selection is more limited than other regions. We simply don’t have the climate for some of the more exotic fruits and vegetables. But it’s always so fun to see what the vendors have on offer and what changes through the season. Zucchini seems to grow really well in this climate. It’s been available since mid-July and it’s still going strong, so I pick up a few every time I go. I’ve had zero luck growing it myself, and it’s such an inexpensive, versatile ingredient. We eat a lot of it every summer, but my kids generally don’t like it unless it’s baked into something. There is just something about baked goods with zucchini that appeal to everyone.
Updated Recipe!
My kids hovered over me as I made this cake. They have a funny habit of doing that when I make any sort of low carb chocolate cake. We’ve now made this quite a few times and on this last go round, I decided to make it dairy-free so that I could share it with my neighbours. I used coconut oil for the batter and coconut milk for the chocolate ganache, and it tasted just as good as the original. I also modified it to make it easier and to use less bowls. Because this is such a delectably moist cake, I’ve found it doesn’t matter if you beat in the butter or oil or melt it and stir it in. Melting and stirring is easiest so I went with that. Life’s complicated enough, why make it even more so?
I highly recommend getting a good non-stick bundt pan, because they make any cake look more elegant. But you can always make it in a 9×13 pan too, or even 2 or 3 round layers. It would even make great low carb cupcakes (baking times will vary depending on what pan you use). It’s an incredibly versatile keto cake recipe, so sock this one away in your arsenal for when all that zucchini comes in!
Low Carb Chocolate Zucchini Bundt Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 cups finely grated zucchini 8 ounces
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 2 cups almond flour
- 2/3 cup Swerve Sweetener
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1/3 cup coconut flour
- 1/3 cup unflavored whey protein powder
- 1 tbsp baking powder
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 cup butter or coconut oil melted
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1/2 to 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
Glaze
- 1/2 cup whipping cream or coconut milk
- 1/4 cup confectioner’s Swerve Sweetener
- 2 oz unsweetened chocolate finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Cake:
- For the cake, place zucchini in a sieve and sprinkle liberally with salt. Mix to combine and let drain 1 hour. Press and squeeze to release the excess liquid and set aside.
- Preheat oven to 325F and grease a large bundt pan well.
- In a large bowl, whisk together almond flour, sweetener cocoa powder, coconut flour, whey protein, and baking powder.
- Add the eggs, melted butter or coconut oil, vanilla extract and 1/2 cup almond milk. Add the drained zucchini and mix until well combined. If your batter is very thick add a few tablespoons additional almond milk at a time until it thins out. It should be spreadable but not pourable.
- Spread batter in the prepared pan and smooth the top. Bake 45 minutes or until set and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let cool in pan 15 minutes, and then flip out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Glaze:
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine cream or coconut milk and the sweetener. Bring to just a simmer, then remove from heat and add chopped chocolate and vanilla. Let sit 5 minutes and then whisk until smooth.
- Pour over the top of the cake and let set.
