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Got zucchini?? These little cakes are so moist and delicious, you'd never know they're fairly low in fat and loaded with veggies!
Mama always said "eat your veggies". And mama's always right. Right?
Okay granted, mama probably wasn't talking about veggies combined with brown sugar, oil, buttermilk, cherries and chocolate. But then again, adding lots of freshly grated zucchini to brown sugar, oil, buttermilk, cherries and chocolate just might give this delicious dessert a wee bit of merit with good old mama.
This mama (as in me) loves adding veggies like carrots and zucchini to baked goods here at The Café, not only because they're nutrient dense, but because these veggies make breads and cakes super moist without having to add a ton of oil, butter or other fats. Get this - this recipe makes 24 nice sized servings with only a half cup of oil! Any health conscious mama would love that! Dried cherries add lots of flavor, additional moistness and are a classic, delicious pairing with chocolate.
I've been working on these Chocolate Cherry Zucchini Cakes for the past week, and I think I've got them just right now. I started out making it as a large cake in a tube pan, the second time in two loaf pans and finally in the individual ramekins.
They all worked well, but my favorite is the small portion-control servings. Each person gets their own and none of the yummy topping is lost when the cake is sliced.
And if you, by chance, have children who are adverse to vegetables; they'll never know in a million years that you've stashed zucchini in these decadent, delicious little cakes. We have a little one like that right now. She is a wonderful eater except for "greens". She carefully examines her plate before eating and says "Not dat." pointing to anything slightly resembling green on her plate. But I have absolutely no doubt that she would polish off one of these cakes without hesitation and leave nary a crumb.
She's not the only one. All of my tastes testers (little and big) have given these cakes a huge thumbs up. Oh, and I probably shouldn't tell you this, but I'm writing this in the car as we're driving to visit family. Before we left, I pulled a stash of them out of the freezer to take along. A few minutes ago I asked Scott if he could stop and sneak one out of the trunk. He gladly obliged, we shared one, and did fight a bit over the last delicious bite. Don't tell the family that there's one missing, okay?
I love how simply these cakes come together. There's no mixer involved, and instead of icing, a topping of mini chocolate chips and raw sugar is sprinkled on top of the cakes after the first 10 minutes of baking. This keeps the topping from sinking into the batter and disappearing. The chocolate chips, in addition to the cocoa in the batter, make for a decadent chocolate treat. The raw (or turbinado) sugar add a little crunch and make the cakes look really pretty without a lot of fuss.
There's a plethora of zucchini to be had right now. If you have a garden, you're probably inundated with the skinny green squash about now. And if you know anyone with a garden, they'd probably be thrilled to unload a bit of their abundance. If you're a city dweller with no gardening friends, no worries - zucchini is super cheap at the market right now!
And your mama? Well she, (along with the rest of your family and friends) will be doing a happy dance when you show up with a tray of these fabulous Chocolate Cherry Zucchini Cakes!
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Chocolate Cherry Zucchini Cakes
Ingredients
- 2 cups grated zucchini, tightly packed
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup cocoa powder
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips, divided
- 1 cup coarsely chopped dried cherries, lightly packed
- ½ cup sunflower oil, or other neutral flavored oil
- 3 large eggs
- 1 ½ cups brown sugar
- ½ cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- raw sugar, demerara or turbinado sugars are similar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350˚F. Spray 24 small ramekins with cooking spray. You can also use 2 12-cup muffin pans. Spray each cup well with cooking spray.
- Place zucchini on top of several thicknesses of paper toweling. Roll grated zucchini in paper towels and pat firmly soak up excess moisture from zucchini. Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.
- Whisk together flour, baking soda and salt in a medium size bowl. Sift in cocoa powder (I just pour my cocoa in a fine sieve and stir till it's all sifted through) and whisk again till combined.
- Combine ¾ cup of the chocolate chips and the rough chopped cherries in a medium size bowl. Reserve the remaining ¼ cup chips. Add 2 tablespoons of the flour/cocoa mixture to chips/cherries in bowl and toss with your fingers to coat everything and to break up any clumps of cherries. The flour will also help prevent chips and cherries from sinking to the bottom of the cakes. Set aside. In a medium-large bowl, whisk together oil, eggs and brown sugar. Add buttermilk and vanilla and whisk again. Add zucchini and stir to combine.
-  Add the flour/cocoa mixture to the wet ingredients and stir just till flour disappears. Add chocolate chips and cherries. Stir just to combine.
- Divide batter between ramekins (or muffin cups), filling ¾ full. Do not fill any higher. If you have leftover batter, just make one or more extra cakes. Place in oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove and sprinkle each pan with ½ teaspoon raw sugar and 2 teaspoons of the reserved chocolate chips. Return to oven and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cakes made in muffin cups may take a bit longer.
- If desired, sprinkle finished cakes with a bit more sugar and a few more chips while hot.
Notes
If you're serving a crowd, these ramekins would work well.
This recipe can also be made in 2 8-inch loaf pans. The loaves will need to be baked quite a bit longer, 50-60 minutes.
Nutrition
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Delicious! Made them in muffin cups and they were so moist and chocolaty. This is a recipe I will make many times.
Awesome! Thanks for the review, Pam!
These look amazing! Can fresh cherries be used and if so, will it affect baking time?
Hi Janet, We haven't tested this recipe with fresh cherries but I think it should work. I would chop the cherries then drain them on paper towels to remove as much of the extra juice as you can. Otherwise, I'm afraid the cakes could be soggy. Just keep an eye on them when you're baking them.
Hey Janet, take a look at the double chocolate cherry muffins .. on the allrecipes website. They are truly AMAZING!! Made with fresh cherries. I, too, was caught off guard to see that this recipe uses dried cherries - when the pictures show FRESH cherries.
Hi Chris! How long would you recommend baking this in a tube pan?
Many thanks, as always, and I hope y'all are having a blessed Sunday!
Hi Terry, I would have to do some testing in order to give you accurate advice regarding the baking time. I would bake it until the internal temperature is 200-210˚F when tested with an instant thermometer.
Thanks, Chris - I appreciate your reply! I certainly don't want to cause you more work - I just thought as you said your first attempt was in a tube pan it would be easy for me to duplicate that (amount of time).
Blessings to you and yours!
No problem, Terry!! It's just been so long since I made it that I would have to do it again to give sound advice!
Made these today with homegrown zucchini. I love how easy they were to make. I used a cupcake pan and they turned out so beautiful. They are delicious.
Awesome! Thanks for letting us know, Kristin!
These are delicious! Followed the recipe given and they turned out perfect!
Wonderful! Thanks for letting us know, Cindy!
Hi Cat, I would use the 2,3 or 4-ounce size.
Hi Chris!
Sounds yummy. Thanks for adding to my waistline yet again. Quick question on the ramekins. I love the square ramekins you suggested, and there are several sizes. Which ones are you recommending? Thanks so much,
Cat
I make many of your recipes with great success, and appreciate that you have a metric conversion button for most, but not this one. Could you, please, add metric conversion to this recipe.
Many thanks, Helen (UK)
Thanks for letting me know, Helen! I just completed the conversion. Hope you enjoy the recipe!
Quick question - can you use fresh cherries instead of dried? And if so, how would you adjust the cooking time?
Thanks!
Hi Susan, I haven't tested this recipe with fresh cherries but I think it should work. I would chop the cherries then drain them on paper towels to remove as much of the extra juice as you can. Otherwise, I'm afraid the cakes could be soggy.
I have a question before I make them-I’d prefer to make in the loaf or tube pan. How long do you cook both of them and also, does it make one loaf or two. I could probably wing it but since I’m not making them today, thought I’d check with you. Thanks in advance. I love your recipes and this site. (I wrote this on the 7th but haven't gotten an answer yet so I thought I'd re-post it figuring it was probably missed)
Thank you, Brenda, for reposting this. It did get missed. So sorry!
If you make these in loaf pans it would depend on the size of your pan/s. I used 1 8-inch long loaf pans and it took 40-50 minutes. If you use a larger pan, just use one and bake a bit longer - just check every 5 minutes or so and see if a toothpick comes out clean when inserted in the center.
I have a question before I make them-I'd prefer to make in the loaf or tube pan. How long do you cook both of them and also, does it make one loaf or two. I could probably wing it but since I'm not making them today, thought I'd check with you. Thanks in advance. I love your recipes and this site.
These are fantastic, and sooooo addict able, the only thing I did different is added chopped walnuts ( hubby loves nuts ) the first time I made it into loaves as it was easier at the time, today 1 loaf and the rest muffins as I don't have ramekins.
Looking forward to trying different recipes, will. Keep you posted.
Lynd
Thank you for the reminder of how delicious chocolate and zucchini are together in cakes! I love the addition of cherries in yours. So cute in the individual ramekins and so delicious!
What gorgeous little cakes, I love the chocolate chip topping!
I would happily eat my vegetables in this form Chris! I love where this recipe ended up. A personal serving is always more fun and as irresistible as this looks, would help with portion control too!
Thanks Toni! Seems like we all need a little "portion control" these days!
I love chocolate and zucchini together! And the fact that this cake has cherries too makes the recipe even more delicious. I have to say that I like the single serving portions - perfect for me to make for dessert this week.
Thanks Thalia! Plus they just look so cute!
I know these are healthy and a great way to sneak veggies in, but for me it's all about the moist texture and the flavor. Well done, you two!
Thanks Maureen! We had fun shooting these, once we figured out how they looked the best!
So, so pretty! And the most delicious way to hide vegetables ever 🙂
We think so too Jennifer!
Thanks Geenie! I think you'll really like this one, the cherries and chocolate are such a wonderful combination. And they're not too chocolate-y!
I think I need to go check my zucchini plants! I want one! These are beautiful Chris - and your mamma was right - you gotta eat your green vegetables - but she probably didn't say you better not have them with chocolate!
I do think my mama would have loved these cakes. Wish she was here to enjoy them. I'd love to sit down with a cup of coffee and her across the table and a big platter of these between us.I'm quite certain that I got my sweet tooth from her.
I absolutely love this kind of cake. Zucchinis gives a moist texture that I'm always looking for:) Love the addition of cherries!
Thanks Kim, the cherries add amazing flavor!
Yet another reason for me to make a trip to the farmers market this week!
I'm sure you'll find lots of zucchini there Sandra! Wish my farmer's market was closer.
Suddenly I'm craving veggies -- for breakfast! This is a terrific dessert, and I'd eat it any time of the day. Inspired stuff -- thanks.
Thanks John, I hadn't thought of these for breakfast but now you've given me a new idea!
Thanks so much John!
What adorable little cakes! They look like the perfect use for zucchini 🙂
Thanks Angie, the cherries add a natural sweetness that I love!
June, We've put them in the freezer (for safe keeping!!) and they come out fantastic!
Chris, yes, chocolate and cherries are an amazing combination - what a dessert creation!
Oh my gosh - I love these little cakes - they are SO adorable and I bet SO tasty! Lovely photos. Hope you are doing well!
I love those individual servings! So cute! I love the add of chopped cherries here, Chris.
Hi, Chris - I L-O-V-E your blog! What size of ramekins did you use? when I look them up to purchase they come in sizes 2oz /4o z/6oz, etc.
Please help!
Hi Sherri,
Mine are 2 ounces. Thanks for your kind words, I really appreciate them.
Hi Chris, chocolate and cherries are a match made in heaven, adding the zucchini is genius!
Haha, yes I had a large portion today and so did my little kiddies. They never knew they were eating veggies!
Yes please…I would like a large portion of veggies. Delicious, I'm sure.
Thanks Karen. Someone on FB mentioned that chocolate is kind of a veggie too. That means a double portion of veggies with each cake. 🙂
PS cute new header!
Sp pretty too Chris!
Thanks Monique!