Chocolate Zucchini Birthday Cake with Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting

Being a part of the weight loss surgery community, I’ve been able to build friendships with people from all over the globe. Thankfully before moving to the PNW, I became friends with Anna. She and her hubby are VSG rockstars and I had the pleasure to bake her birthday cake last week for her dirrrrrrty thirrrrty.

This recipe is perfect when you’re looking to make a single cake to frost, but you can obviously scale up the recipe to make a layered cake, if that’s what you want.

But me? One and done.

For now.

Chocolate Zucchini Birthday Cake with Pumpkin Cream Cheese Frosting

CAKE

1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon (optional)
3/4 cup brown sugar or coconut sugar (packed)
1/2 cup coconut oil (melted)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup Greek yogurt (vanilla or plain)
1 cup zucchini (grated; about 1 medium)
1/2 cup chocolate chips or butterscotch chips

Frosting

8 oz cream cheese (full fat or 1/3 fat is ok, but don't use fat free)
1/2 cup pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling!)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
6 Tbsp brown sugar or coconut sugar

Make the frosting first by mixing all of the ingredients together with a hand mixer. Put it in the fridge until you’re ready to frost the cake.
Preheat the oven to 350F and prepare an 8-inch cake pan by lining the bottom with parchment paper and lubing it up with non-stick spray and set aside.
Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon if you’re using it, chocolate chips and mix until combined. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, combine sugar and oil until well mixed and add eggs one at a time until fully incorporated. Add vanilla, yoghurt; mix and then finally… fold in the shredded zucchini.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, make sure it it completely mixed before pouring into the prepared cake pan. Bake in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
Let the cake cool COMPLETELY before slathering on the pumpkin cream cheese frosting; otherwise its going to melt.