D/F, G/F Chocolate Zucchini Cake for All!

It’s the thought that counts, right? I uttered those words to family and friends several times over the years when a recipe I attempted didn’t quite turn out as anticipated. Most often it was a cooking calamity, not a baking blunder (not to say those haven’t happened as well).  It wasn’t until I started baking with substitutions (dairy-free, egg-free, gluten-free, etc..) that I really got into the trial and error of baking.

The Art of Baking

Baking is a science with rules. I appreciate that, no, I LOVE baking for that!

I grew up with a mom who always just made a recipe work with what she had available. As much as it unnerved me, it was part of how I learned to bake. You only have half the oil, no problem, just use applesauce or melted butter for the rest. Want a heartier baked good, sub in some wheat flour – voila!

The Art of Substitution

However, when I was eliminating foods from my diet for Ellie (read about it in Ellie’s FPIES Journey) the first several foods were dairy, soy, and eggs. I had just inadvertently gone vegan in my baking. That was a world of substitutions I was NOT familiar with.  How do you bake without eggs?! Spoiler: flax eggs or Bob’s Red Mill Egg Replacer.

It was a learning curve absolutely, and I will admit there were several muttered ‘no thank yous’ to unsuccessful substitution efforts. After several months of practice, I became fairly proficient at adapting favorite recipes or creating some of my own. Thank goodness because this girl cannot be without her baked goods!

Baked Goods for All

I was pleased to be able to try out my baked goods on others who followed the same dietary restrictions and also craved delicious baked treats. If you think your average dietary Joe is grateful for baked goods, try baking for those that can’t usually indulge due to their restrictions.

One of these trials was for my sister. As I had mentioned in a previous post, she frequently requested our family’s Chocolate Zucchini Bundt Cake for her birthday. Well now that she eats a gluten-free, dairy-free, and reduced sugar diet, that posed a challenge for me in baking her this cake. Yes, I had made her other treats like this plum crisp, but TRADITION people!

Bundt Cake Mission

I had a mission, to adapt the amazing Chocolate Zucchini Bundt Cake Recipe to something that not only she could eat but still tasted amazing! Dairy-free – check, gluten-free – check, reduced sugar – check, still delicious – check.

This year on her birthday I am happy to say that I successfully baked her THE birthday Bundt cake. I will tell you, that the joy she expressed in being able to partake in such a delicious tradition again made the work in adapting the recipe worth it several times over.

This cake still had the delicious mild chocolate flavor with the bursts of chocolate from the chocolate chips. The zucchini was still subtle but shown as a star. The reduced sugar definitely made the cake a bit more savory to my palate, but my sister insisted it was just right as she doesn’t often eat really sweet desserts -duh. (If you wanted a gluten-free and dairy-free cake but with the same flavor as the original, I’ll give you that option in the recipe as well.) I will say that my nephew devoured his slice of cake and said it was two thumbs up, so I count that as high praise for the cake! Tradition accomplished!

I will continue Adapting

Now that I am no longer needing to follow a diet of strict food restrictions, I could just forget about baking with substitutions until Ellie starts getting enough foods that I can ‘bake’ something for her. However, that eliminates my ability to bake for so many people who do still have restrictions, and since I now have some experience, continue I will!

I know I am not the expert that some of you probably are with creating your own gluten-free flour mix (my sister) nor do I have the years under my belt of vegan baking. However, over the past few years, I have both learned and tasted much. I am happy to say that I have made some delicious dessert options that I want to share with you!

How ever you found yourself here in this small corner of the inter-web, maybe due to dietary restrictions of your own, or of a loved one, or maybe just plain curiosity, I want to bake for you! Since I can’t do that, I will instead continue to post recipes to my blog that you can create yourself, like this D/F, G/F Chocolate Zucchini Bundt Cake.

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G/F, D/F Chocolate Zucchini Bundt Cake

Yield: 12 slices

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

There isn't a more harmonious veggie/dessert marriage than chocolate and zucchini in this G/F, D/F and low sugar cake. Love on those dietary - restricted folks in your life and make them this delicious cake!

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Ingredients

• ½ cup butter substitute, room temperature (I use Earth Balance soy free buttery stick)
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup granulated sugar*
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 2 t vanilla
• ½ cup 'sour' coconut milk (coconut milk with 1 Tbs of lemon juice to make ½ cup total)
• 2 1/4 cup + 3T Gluten free 1 to 1 baking flour (I use Bob's Red Mill)
• 2 tsp corn starch
• ¼ cup cocoa powder
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 2 cups zucchini**, shredded
• 1/2 - 3/4 dairy free chocolate chunks or chips (semi-sweet or dark)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and use coconut oil to lightly grease the inside of the pan, then dust with cocoa powder. (This is the key to get your cake to come out of your Bundt pan beautifully - make sure to get the oil and cocoa powder in every part of the pan. You wont regret the extra minute it takes to do it, but be sure to knock out the extra cocoa powder that doesn't stick to the pan so you don't end up with a thick layer of cocoa powder - that wouldn't be as delicious.)***
2. In a large mixing bowl cream together butter substitute, oil, and sugar.
3. Add beaten eggs, vanilla, and coconut milk with lemon juice - mix until smooth.
4. Sift or whisk together dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
5. Add dry ingredients to creamed mixture and stir until just combined.
6. Stir in zucchini and chocolate chips.
7. Pour batter into your prepared Bundt pan and bake for 45 minutes to an hour. Cake is done when a toothpick stuck in the middle comes out clean.
8. Let cool in the Bundt pan a couple minutes and then gently shake the cake around in the pan to make sure it's loose before flipping it upside down on a cooling rack. Carefully remove pan and then allow cake to cool completely.
9. Once the cake is cooled, either dust cake with powder sugar or be really decadent and drizzle with some melted chocolate.****
10. Enjoy a slice and relish in the knowledge that this cake is gluten-free, dairy-free, and reduced sugar, yet still so delicious!!

Notes

*If you are not looking to make a reduced sugar dessert, add 1 3/4 cup granulated sugar instead of only 1 cup.

**About one medium zucchini.  Grate zucchini before starting the rest of the cake and put it in a strainer to allow it to drain a little naturally, but don’t squeeze out all of the moisture.

***You can also spray your Bundt pan with a gluten free non stick spray really well, and as long as you don't have a really intricate pan, it should still come out okay. This batter also bakes up well as cupcakes if you don't have a Bundt pan.

****Mix one cup of dairy free chocolate chips and 1 Tbs coconut oil in a microwave safe bowl and heat on 30 second intervals, stirring each time until the chocolate has reached perfect drizzling consistency.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 312Total Fat: 21gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 12gCholesterol: 51mgSodium: 318mgCarbohydrates: 29gFiber: 1gSugar: 18gProtein: 3g

This information was obtained using an ingredient calculator to provide an idea of nutritional value. To obtain the most accurate numbers for nutrition information of any recipe, you should figure the nutritional information with the ingredients you used in the recipe. Each individual user is responsible for making sure that any nutritional information used is correct.