Name: Gooey Chocolate Chai Zucchini Cake
Prep time: 40 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 25 min
Yield: 16
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 3 medium zucchini, peeled and chopped; 1 3/4 cup granulated sugar; 2/3 cup canola oil; 2 large eggs; 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour; 1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour; 2/3 cups unsweetened cocoa powder; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 teaspoon baking powder; 1 teaspoon baking soda; 1 Chai tea bags, I used Trader Joe's Spiced Chai; 1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil; 1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped; 6 tablespoons unsweetened non-dairy milk; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 2-3 cups powdered sugar; 1 cup mini dairy-free chocolate chips

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Sometimes a girl just needs a piece of chocolate cake—ya know?!!

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Like, if I could do it and still maintain my dignity I would probably enjoy a nice piece of chocolate cake a couple times a day. The hours between 3pm and 9pm are rough, chocolate cake would really help.

This Gooey Chocolate Chai Zucchini Cake is the perfect combination of exotic spice and heavenly chocolate with hidden veggies and dairy-free to boot!

But then I went and heard Paulette Lambert speak and she kept saying this thing about how the more sugar you eat, the more you crave it and how I should get my sugar fix from fruit and all this other nonsense that I should absolutely be listening to. She also said my evening glass or two of wine was a no-no so I’ve got work to do, anyhoo, back to the sugar thing.

I got to thinking that I eat way too much sugar and my husband eats way too much sugar and the worst….my kids eat way, way, way too much sugar. My daughter has a thing after school she calls her “candy snack.” #truth.

But instead of cutting everyone off cold turkey and risk breaking their collective heart, I decided to slowly reduce the sugar intake as well as make the sweet treats we do eat a bit healthier.

I fell in love with this cake from An Edible Mosaic the first time I made it about a year ago. It is utterly fluffy, tender, and filled with warm fall spices thanks to a healthy dose of chai tea.

It still has sugar, yes, but it also has over 2 cups of fresh zucchini puree, whole wheat flour, and no butter or dairy fat of any kind. Not that I’m a huge fan of hiding nutrition from my kids, but they have no idea there’s vegetables in there thanks to Faith’s genius tip of pureeing the zucchini instead of grating it. This gives the cake an impeccable crumb and FYI, zucchini puree is virtually flavorless.

So here’s to eating healthy-ish….the silky chocolate frosting doesn’t hurt either.

Gooey Chocolate Chai Zucchini Cake

Yield: 16 servings

Prep Time: 40 minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour 25 minutes

This Gooey Chocolate Chai Zucchini Cake is the perfect combination of exotic spice and heavenly chocolate with hidden veggies and dairy-free to boot! Adapted from An Edible Mosaic

Ingredients

For the Cake:

3 medium zucchini, peeled and chopped
1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour
2/3 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 Chai tea bags, I used Trader Joe's Spiced Chai

For the Frosting:

1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, chopped
6 tablespoons unsweetened non-dairy milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2-3 cups powdered sugar
1 cup mini dairy-free chocolate chips

Instructions

For the Cake:

Heat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan and line with parchment, if desired. (If you plan on serving the cake straight from the pan, no parchment is necessary).
Place zucchini in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment. Pulse until you have a mostly smooth puree.
Whisk together the sugar, oil, eggs, and zucchini puree in a large bowl. Sift both flours, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, baking soda, into the egg mixture. Cut open the chai tea bags and add the tea straight to the bowl.
Mix everything together with a rubber spatula until just combined—don't over mix.
Scrape batter into the prepared pan and bake on the middle rack until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes.
Let cool on a wire rack at least 20 minutes. If you'd like to remove it from the pan, pull on the outer edges of the parchment paper to take out of the pan.

For the Frosting:

Combine coconut oil and chocolate in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Warm, stirring frequently, until chocolate has melted and mixture is smooth.
Transfer chocolate mixture to a large bowl and whisk in milk, vanilla, salt, and powdered sugar until smooth.
Pour frosting over cake and smooth to the edges. Sprinkle with chocolate chips and serve.
Cake will keep covered, at room temperature, for 5 days.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 16 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 524Total Fat: 18gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 24mgSodium: 290mgCarbohydrates: 89gFiber: 3gSugar: 69gProtein: 5g

One More Thing

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Gooey Chocolate Chai Zucchini Cake