Why add courgettes to a chocolate cake?

Courgette makes the cake very moist, without impacting the flavour. You won't be able to taste the courgette at all but it retains moisture within the cake which is what keeps it tender and moist. I know it may sound a little odd but think of it like carrot cake - the carrots give a real softness and moistness to the cake. It works the same way here with courgette.

What is the difference between chocolate chunks and chocolate chips?

Chocolate chips are small teardrop shaped chocolate droplets that have been specifically designed to withstand high temperatures and hold their shape when baking. This means they don’t melt and look rather pretty in things like cookies and brownies - they also tend to taste sweeter as they usually have a higher sugar content and lower cocoa butter content than chocolate bars. In contrast, chocolate chunks (made from chopping up your own chocolate bar) will vary in size and melt into gloriously gooey pools of melted chocolate during baking. They won’t look as pretty or uniform, but will taste absolutely delicious. You also have more control of the sugar level as you can vary your choice of chocolate. I specifically chose to use chopped chocolate in this Chocolate Courgette Cake as I love coming across the puddles of molten chocolate.

How should I store this Chocolate Courgette Cake?

You should store in an airtight container (a large tupperware or cake box will work) and you can store it for 2-3 days with the frosting, longer without (although it probably won't last that long). If you want to make the cake ahead of time, you can bake it and wrap tightly in clingfilm for a day before icing it before serving.

Chocolate Courgette Cake with Chocolate Frosting

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This moist chocolate courgette cake is delicious on its own - but I highly recommend you try the incredible sour cream chocolate frosting. I promise you, this recipe will go down a treat...

Author: Margie
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 60 minutes + cooling time
Yield: Serves 6-8 1x
Category: Baking
Method: Oven
Cuisine: Global

Ingredients

Scale

For the cake:

250g courgettes, grated
50g caster sugar
100g soft light brown sugar
2 large eggs
65g full-fat Greek yoghurt
60ml vegetable oil
120g plain flour
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
¼ tsp baking powder
55g cocoa powder
½ tsp flaky salt
200g good-quality dark chocolate, roughly chopped

For the sour cream chocolate frosting: (optional)

100g unsalted butter, at room temperature
50g full-fat sour cream, room temperature
160g good-quality dark chocolate, melted
25g cocoa powder
350g icing sugar

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Instructions

Preheat the oven to 180C Fan. Grease and line a 900g (2lb) loaf tin with non-stick baking paper or use a little butter and a dusting of cocoa powder.
Place the grated courgette in a clean tea towel and give it a good squeeze to get rid of any excess moisture.
Tip the courgette into a large mixing bowl. Add the sugars, eggs, yoghurt and oil and mix well.
Sieve in the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and cocoa powder. Add the salt and mix well to combine.
Stir in the chopped chocolate until evenly distributed throughout the batter.
Pour into the prepared loaf tin and bake for about 40-45 minutes - or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Check at 35 minutes as ovens vary and you don't want it to be too dry - cover with foil if the top is darkening too quickly.
If frosting, leave to cool in the tin for 15 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely. Alternatively, leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes until just cool enough to handle carefully. Turn out onto a plate and enjoy warm slices with melting pools of chocolate.
If making the frosting: using an electric whisk, beat the butter for about 2 minutes until creamy and fluffy. Add the sour cream and the cooled melted chocolate and continue beating until combined. Sift in the icing sugar and cocoa powder and mix until light and fluffy.
Once the loaf has completely cooled, use a palette knife, spatula or the back of the spoon to spread over the top.
Cut into slices and enjoy!

Notes

You can swap the chopped dark chocolate chunks for milk and/or white chocolate if you prefer.

Find it online: https://desertislanddishes.co/chocolate-courgette-cake/