Chocolate and zucchini is a wonderful combination. I have tried this combo in the chocolate zucchini bread and chocolate zucchini cake recipe. I had some leftover zucchini after I made a huge batch of curried zucchini soup. That's when I got this idea of using shredded zucchini instead of apples in this vegan cocoa apple cake recipe. The result was delicious and moist cupcakes. Throw in some vegan chocolate chips to make it even more "chocolaty".
If you tried this Vegan Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes recipe, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it went in the 📝 comments below!
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Recipe
Vegan Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 1 and ½ cup whole wheat pastry flour
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- ¾ cup white sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
Wet Ingredients:
- 1 cup rice milk
- 1 tablespoon vinegar
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Add Ons:
- 1 cup zucchini (shredded)
Substitutions:
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F/180C for 15 minutes. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners or lightly grease it with non-stick cooking spray. In a liquid measuring mug combine together the milk and vinegar. Let is stand for about 5 minutes or until it curdles.
- In a large bowl stir together the measured dry ingredients and make a well.
- Now add the curdled milk mixture and the rest of the wet ingredients one by one and stir until just combined.
- Fold in the shredded zucchini too.
- Divide the batter among 12 cavities of the prepared muffin tin and bake for about 15-20 minutes or until the toothpick inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Mine was done after 16 minutes itself.
- Remove the pan from the oven and cool it on a wire rack for about 5 minutes after which pop out the cupcakes from the tin. Cool it completely on the wire rack before you can frost it.
My Notes
- This recipe can also be baked as an 8-inch round or square cake. The baking time would be about 25-30 minutes in that case.
- Grated apples, carrots and beets too can be used instead of the zucchini.
- I use Spectrum brand's organic, expeller pressed and refined coconut oil. It does not have the coconut flavor and so does not make the baked goods smell and tasty "coconutty".
- I have used unsweetened applesauce here as a fat substitute. Check my homemade applesauce recipe or use oil instead of that. Mashed banana is a good substitute too. Since we are just using 2 tablespoons, I'm sure that it's not going to lend its flavor to the cake.
Taste & Texture
- The whole wheat pastry flour I used in this cupcake recipe gave it a nutty flavor and texture. If you are looking to make this recipe for birthdays and special occasions like such, I would recommend using all purpose flour. Also you might want to increase the quantity of sugar by another 2-3 tablespoons if you are not going to frost it. We were fine with the ¾th cup of sugar but people with sweet tooth might feel that the cupcakes are not sweet enough.
Amisha patel says
Can I use qunioa flour instead of maida/whole wheat flour for any recipe??
Madhuram says
Quinoa is gluten-free so you cannot substitute it measure to measure for maida/whole wheat flour, especially when you are baking egg-free too. Try using a gluten-free mix which is readily available in most of the stores these days.
Pooja says
Amazing!!! Thank you sooo much for sharing this recipe ♡ it works perfectly every time and is such a crowd pleaser, most people don't be believe me when I say it's vegan! 🙂 xo
Madhuram says
You're very welcome Pooja. Thanks for the feedback.
Shruti says
Hi,
I'm a vegetarian and not vegan. Can I use normal instead of rice milk. If yes, then is it okay to mix normal milk with vinegar in the recipe ?
Madhuram says
Yes you can use regular milk and also use vinegar or you can choose to use buttermilk instead. That's what we are mimicking by using non-dairy milk and vinegar.