Paleo Zucchini Chocolate Cake

I might have gone a little overboard with the picture thing. Sorry about that. Or, well, no. Not really.

I figure if these pictures have me drooling big time, chances are they’ll have you drooling too. At least some of you. And surely a little chocolate cake porn can’t be bad for you every now and then, now can it?

I feel I could very well write this entire post with nothing but Oh! and Ah! and more Ooooohs! and Aaaaaahs! and it would do the trick. For seriously, who is ever going to take their eyes off the pictures to actually read the words? Hey, we’re talking CHOCOLATE CAKE here!

When it comes to chocolate, words are completely superfluous.

What’s that you say? Zuki what? Oh, yeah! That’s right. I have added zucchini to this cake, and quite a healthy dose, too! But don’t worry about it. No one will ever know. And I swear, it doesn’t take away from the outstanding scrumptiousness of this cake in the least. And unless someone was to get their magnifier out to examine the cake very “up, close and personal” after it’s been baked, they will never even be able to spot the sneaky veggie. Promise!

Alright, ready to drool some? You might want to gather a few tissues first, just in case. Go get the box, I’ll wait!

When baking, it’s always a good idea to have your mise-en-place ready before you start.

• Dry ingredients in a bowl? Check!
• Wet ingredients all “food-processored” and ready to go? Yesiree Sir!
• Zucchini grated, walnuts chopped, cake pans greased and parchment paper lined? You got that one right!
• Sieve and spatula ready for use? Absolutely!

I think we’re good to go!

It’s always a good idea to sift the dry ingredients first. While this step is not absolutely necessary, it helps in breaking down the lumps (coconut flour is especially lumpy) and will also catch any potential unwanted debris.

I choose to sift, so into the meshed sieve go the dry ingredients!

The wet ingredients then get added to the dry ingredients. I don’t know about you but looking at that ribbon of goodness cascading right down into that bowl, I think I could just sit myself down with the whole thing and go at it with a spoon.

Forget that whole cake baking thing… Save us some time, trouble and electricity!

Dry and wet have now been incorporated. As you can see, that batter is fairly thick.

Now let’s stir in the zucchini and walnuts.

Yes, that may seem like a lot of zucchini, but trust me, it will kind of mysteriously vanish eventually. And this still qualifies as food porn to me, if you ask me!

See? You can hardly even tell that there is zucchini in there already.

Divide the batter between the 2 prepared cake pans

…and spread it as evenly as possible with a rubber spatula. Throw those in the oven without delay.

Once the cakes are cooked, set them to cool on a cooling rack but do not remove the parchment paper until you are ready to get busy frosting them. This will help retain a maximum amount of moisture inside the cakes.

OH! Speaking of frosting… That, my dears, IS the frosting. Does it look yummy enough for you? The good news is it couldn’t be easier to make: just throw everything in the food processor and let her rip.

Then (yeah, I admit, that part is tough. Real tough!) try not to eat the whole thing. You need some for the cakes. Put it in the fridge for now and step away.

Step away, I said!

When you are ready to assemble the cake, place one of the cakes onto a cake plate and brush it generously with coffee syrup over its entire surface. Don’t be afraid to go liberally with the syrup; the cake will soak it all up and will be that much moister as a result.

Now mound about half of the frosting right in the center of the cake and spread it evenly, all the way to the edge, creating little swirls in the icing as you go.

Place the second cake on top, brush generously with syrup then mound the remaining frosting right in the center.

Again, spread that frosting all the way to the edge, making pretty little swirls with your spatula as you go.

Now, I totally admit. Those last 2 shots were probably not really necessary, but I HAD to include them… just a little bit of gratuitous cake porn for ya!

Sprinkle chopped walnuts over the entire surface of the cake and place in the fridge until ready to serve.

Now, just look at that picture. Do I really need to tell you in words that this cake means serious business?

Despite being totally heavenly, this is NOT your fluffy and light, featherweight angelfood cake. No way, Jose! This cake is seriously dense, it is heavy, it is chewy, it is fuh-dge-y, it is VERY chocolate-y and it is a PURE TREAT to your taste buds every time a new bite is delivered to your mouth. And when that happens, I can guarantee that your brain will start performing some pretty severe break-dancing, complete with headspin and all, hoping for more to come!

Honestly, I’ve had nothing but praises from everyone who was lucky enough for me to share a piece of this precious dessert with them. All very nice people who fully deserved a slice of course! I wasn’t so generous as to allow for seconds, though. One slice was all they got.

All joking aside, I actually made this cake when my daughter and her boyfriend came to visit me last week. Of course, I sent them home with a huge chunk of it (I did NOT want to be left alone with all that cake in my fridge!), and apparently, when my son-in-law’s mother got a taste of it, she immediately stated that no one was to touch what was left of that cake ever again. It was hers, hers, hers and hers alone. People had better keep their hands off!

Gawd I love it when non-paleo people totally dig my paleo creations like that! Music to my ears, is what it is. Every.single.time. Never fails.

Now I can’t wait to hear what you guys think!

Print Recipe Rate this Recipe

5 from 6 votes

Paleo Zucchini Chocolate Cake

Servings: 16

Ingredients

FOR THE CAKE

DRY INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup almond flour
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1/2 cup tapioca starch
• 3/4 cup organic cacao powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp cream of tartar
• 1/2 tps salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

WET INGREDIENTS

• 1 ripe avocado
• 1 cup date paste
• 1/2 cup unpasteurized honey
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup coconut oil, melted
• 5 large eggs

ADD-INS

• 3 cups grated zucchini, about 3 medium
• ¾ cup chopped walnuts

FROSTING

• 1 cup organic cacao powder
• 1/4 cup unpasteurized honey
• 1 cup date paste
• 2 ripe avocados
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 tbsp instant coffee, diluted int 2 tbsp boiling water
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup full fat coconut milk

SYRUP

• 1/4 cup unpasteurized honey
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tsp instant coffee

GARNISH

• Chopped walnuts, to taste

Instructions

FOR THE CAKE

• Preheat your oven to 350F
• Grease two 9” round cake pans with coconut oil and line the bottom with parchment paper.
• Add all dry ingredients to a large bowl and sift them through a mesh sieve to get rid of any potential lumps, and then mix until thoroughly combined. Set aside.
• Add avocado, date paste, honey and vanilla extract to the bowl of your food processor and process until well combined and creamy.
• While the motor is running, drizzle the melted coconut oil and once it’s fully incorporated, add the eggs, one at a time waiting until each one is fully incorporated before adding the next.
• Mix the wet ingredients into the dry with a rubber spatula. Stir in grated zucchini and walnuts.
• Divide this batter between the 2 prepared cake pans and spread evenly.
• Place in a 350F oven and bake for 33-35 minutes, or until cake is completely set and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
• Turn the cakes over onto a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely. Leave the paper in place until you are ready to frost your cake.

FOR THE ICING

• Add all the ingredients except for coconut milk to the bowl of your food processor and process until thoroughly combined, smooth and creamy. Add coconut milk and resume processing until fully incorporated.
• Place the icing in the refrigerator for about 10-15 minutes to chill and firm up.
• During that time, make the syrup: bring water and honey to a boil over medium heat. Stir in coffee and let this syrup simmer for a minute then kill the heat.

ASSEMBLY

• Carefully remove the parchment paper from on the cakes. Place one of the cakes onto a cake plate and brush a few tablespoons of the coffee syrup over its entire surface. Do be fairly generous with the syrup; the cake will soak it all up and will be that much moister as a result.
• Mound half of the frosting right in the center of the cake and spread it evenly, all the way to the edge, creating little swirls in the icing as you go; Place the second cake on top, brush with syrup then mound the remaining frosting in the center and again, spread that frosting all the way to the edge, making pretty little swirls with your spatula as you go.
• Sprinkle chopped walnuts over the entire surface of the cake and place in the fridge until ready to serve.
  

Author: Sonia! The Healthy Foodie

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