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    Chocolate Courgette Loaf Cake

    08/01/2021 by thebakingexplorer 39 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe
    Chocolate Courgette Loaf Cake

    If you want to have your cake and eat your vegetables too, this Chocolate Courgette Loaf Cake is a great solution! Before you ask, no you cannot taste the courgette at all, I promise! My partner hates courgette and he happily ate a slice of this yummy cake. If you are in the US you will know this as Chocolate Zucchini Cake or Zucchini Bread. What the courgette does is make the cake super moist, and add some hidden nutrition. I've also made this cake with coconut sugar and wholemeal flour for some extra goodness. This Chocolate Courgette Loaf Cake is still a bit of a treat of course, as it's got tasty dark chocolate chips throughout, plus a drizzle of dark chocolate on top!

    This post may contain affiliate links. I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Chocolate Courgette Loaf Cake

    Ingredient Tips & Equipment Information

    • Make sure all your ingredients (particularly the eggs) are at room temperature before you start baking.
    • For the best flavour, make sure to use a good quality vanilla extract and not an essence. You can also use a vanilla bean paste.
    • I used coconut sugar to make this cake, it's a great option if you're avoiding refined sugars. However you can use light brown soft sugar or caster sugar if you prefer instead.
    • You can swap the plain wholemeal flour for regular plain flour if you prefer.
    • Or if you can only find self raising wholemeal flour, then you can omit the baking powder.
    • You will need a 2lb loaf tin for this recipe (you can test the size of your loaf tin by seeing how much water the tin can hold, 2lb will hold about 2 pints/1100ml of water). If you have a 1lb loaf tin, simply halve the ingredient amounts.
    • For easy lining of the tin, use a loaf cake tin liner.
    • Although I provide cup measurements, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients out using digital kitchen scales. It is the most accurate way to measure ingredients and will ensure the best results. Digital scales are very low cost and can be purchased for around £12 ($16.50) .
    • For teaspoon (tsp) and tablespoon (tbsp) measurements, please use measuring spoons and not the type of spoons you eat with. Again this will ensure accuracy and provide the best results.

    For the full recipe with measurements, head to the recipe card at the end of this post.

    How to make Chocolate Courgette Loaf Cake

    In a bowl, stir together self raising flour, plain wholemeal flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, coconut sugar and cocoa powder. Add the grated courgette and dark chocolate chips, and stir them in. In another bowl, whisk together eggs, yoghurt and vegetable oil, then add it to the flour and courgette mix. Combine everything together.

    Put the mixture into a lined loaf tin and bake it for 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

    For the full recipe with measurements, head to the recipe card at the end of this post.

    Click on the image to order your copy!
    Chocolate Courgette Loaf Cake

    What is the best way to grate the courgette?

    You don't need to peel courgette before you grate it, just chop off the end. I used a box grater and grated it by hand. You can also grate the courgette using a food processor with a grating attachment.

    How should the cake be stored and can it be frozen?

    The cake should be stored in an airtight container in a cool place, and eaten within 3 days. If you would like to freeze it, you can freeze the whole cake or freeze it in slices. Once it has fully cooled, wrap the cake or slices well in cling film (plastic wrap) and freeze for up to 3 months. It also helps to put squares of baking paper between the slices so they are easier to separate and defrost a couple at a time.

    Can you make this loaf cake with plain/all purpose flour?

    Self raising flour, which is very commonly used in the UK where I am based, already contains a raising agent and a little salt too. Therefore if you want to swap it for plain or all purpose flour, you will need to add some additional baking powder and also a little salt if you like. Some people like to add salt to cake recipes and some don't, so I'll leave that up to you as it won't affect the bake. The general advice is to add 2 teaspoons baking powder (a measuring teaspoon, not the kind you stir your coffee with) per every 200g plain or all purpose flour. So for this recipe you'd need to add an additional ½ teaspoon of baking powder. Please note, I have not tested this recipe using plain or all purpose flour.

    Can this loaf cake be made gluten or dairy free?

    Yes! For gluten free you can replace the wholemeal plain flour with a gluten free plain flour blend, and the self raising flour with a gluten free self raising flour blend. If you only have a gluten free plain flour blend, you will need to add baking powder. The general advice is to add 2 tsp baking powder per 200g flour, so for this recipe you'd need to add an additional ½ teaspoon of baking powder. You may also like to add ¼ tsp Xantham Gum for better texture. For a dairy free version, use a dairy free yoghurt and dairy free dark chocolate.

    Chocolate Courgette Loaf Cake

    Do you have to use coconut sugar?

    If you can't get hold of coconut sugar you can use light brown sugar, or caster sugar.

    Do you have to use wholemeal flour?

    No, if you want to use regular flour instead you can swap the wholemeal flour for plain flour or self raising flour. If you swap it for self raising flour, then you can omit the baking powder.

    Do you need an electric mixer to make this cake?

    No, in fact I find this cake easier to make by hand with a hand whisk or spatula/spoon. You could use a stand mixer, but keep it on a low speed to avoid over mixing.

    More tips for making the Chocolate Courgette Loaf Cake:

    • I also tested this recipe with 150g sugar, I have a big sweet tooth so I preferred the slighter higher amount, but you can use the lesser amount if you want to reduce the sugar.
    • If you want to use all wholemeal flour, you will need to add an extra ½ tsp baking powder. If you want to use all self raising flour, you should omit the baking powder.
    • I used dark chocolate chips, you can omit them, or you can use milk or white chocolate chips if you like instead.
    Chocolate Courgette Loaf Cake

    Troubleshooting

    My number one tip for getting the best results is to read through this whole page of tips and recommendations before starting, and follow the recipe exactly. If you have any questions about this recipe, or if something went wrong and you need help, please use the comment form below and I will get back to you. You can also get in touch with me on my Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. I'd love to hear from you!

    Recommended equipment & ingredients

    • Loaf cake tin
    • Mixing bowls
    • Cooling rack
    • Kitchen scales
    • Loaf cake tin liners
    • Piping bags
    • Loaf cake storage box
    • Food processor
    • Box grater

    I earn a small amount of money if you buy the products after clicking on the links. You will not be charged anything extra for this. Thank you for supporting The Baking Explorer!

    Chocolate Courgette Loaf Cake

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    Chocolate Courgette Loaf Cake
    Chocolate Courgette Loaf Cake

    Chocolate Courgette Loaf Cake

    Super moist chocolate loaf cake with dark chocolate chips and hidden courgette
    5 from 19 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dessert
    Cuisine: British
    Keyword: Cake
    Prep Time: 30 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 1 hour hour 40 minutes minutes
    Servings: 10
    Author: thebakingexplorer

    Ingredients

    For the cake

    • 65 g Self raising flour
    • 100 g Plain wholemeal flour
    • 1 tsp Baking powder
    • 175 g Coconut sugar or light brown soft sugar
    • ¼ tsp Bicarbonate of soda
    • 35 g Cocoa powder
    • 200 g Courgette grated, one large courgette
    • 100 g Dark chocolate chips
    • 3 Eggs large
    • 100 ml Vegetable oil
    • 1 tsp Vanilla extract
    • 40 g Natural yoghurt

    For decoration (optional)

    • 35 g Dark chocolate optional
    Metric - US Customary

    Instructions

    • Pre-heat the oven to 160C Fan/180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 and grease and line a 2lb loaf tin
    • In a large mixing bowl, stir together the self raising flour, wholemeal flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cocoa powder and coconut sugar until well combined
    • Grate the courgette and squeeze it over the sink to release any extra liquid, then add it to the bowl along with the dark chocolate chips, stir everything together
    • In another bowl or large jug, whisk together the eggs, vegetable oil, vanilla extract and yoghurt
    • Pour the egg mixture into the bowl of flour/courgette etc and stir everything together until well combined
    • Pour the mixture into the loaf tin and bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean (I would suggest checking it after 1 hour). Leave to cool fully
    • To decorate, melt the dark chocolate in the microwave. To do this, blast it for 30 seconds, stir, then blast in 10 second bursts stirring in between each one until melted. Drizzle it over the cake
    • Store leftovers in an airtight continer in a cool place and eat within 3 days
    Made this recipe?Share on Instagram with me @TheBakingExplorer or tag #thebakingexplorer!

    Video

    Notes

    • Make sure all your ingredients (particularly the eggs) are at room temperature before you start baking.
    • For the best flavour, make sure to use a good quality vanilla extract and not an essence. You can also use a vanilla bean paste.
    • I used coconut sugar to make this cake, it's a great option if you're avoiding refined sugars. However you can use light brown soft sugar or caster sugar if you prefer instead.
    • You can swap the plain wholemeal flour for regular plain flour if you prefer.
    • Or if you can only find self raising wholemeal flour, then you can omit the baking powder.
    • You will need a 2lb loaf tin for this recipe (you can test the size of your loaf tin by seeing how much water the tin can hold, 2lb will hold about 2 pints/1100ml of water). If you have a 1lb loaf tin, simply halve the ingredient amounts.
    • For easy lining of the tin, use a loaf cake tin liner.
    • Although I provide cup measurements, I highly recommend weighing your ingredients out using digital kitchen scales. It is the most accurate way to measure ingredients and will ensure the best results. Digital scales are very low cost and can be purchased for around £12 ($16.50) .
    • For teaspoon (tsp) and tablespoon (tbsp) measurements, please use measuring spoons and not the type of spoons you eat with. Again this will ensure accuracy and provide the best results.
     

    Nutrition

    Calories: 310kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Cholesterol: 50mg | Sodium: 139mg | Potassium: 261mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 111IU | Vitamin C: 4mg | Calcium: 80mg | Iron: 2mg

    If you like this, check out more of my Loaf Cake recipes!

    « Vegan Vanilla Cheesecake with Salted Caramel Sauce
    Vegan Biscoff Cake »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Dawn Barrett

      January 12, 2021 at 7:36 am

      5 stars
      Excellent recipe. First time baking with courgettes for me, but it really worked and the cake is beautifully moist and not too sweet. Keeps really well too!

      Reply
      • thebakingexplorer

        January 12, 2021 at 12:19 pm

        Thanks so much for your lovely feedback Dawn! I'm so pleased you enjoyed the cake!

        Reply
    2. Karen Booth

      January 12, 2021 at 2:31 pm

      Thanks Kat for adding this luscious cake to #CookBlogShare this week - it looks absolutely delicious! Karen

      Reply
    3. Kacie Morgan

      January 12, 2021 at 2:46 pm

      5 stars
      Oh yummy! If only I'd come across this recipe during the summer, when I had a surplus of home-grown courgettes from the garden! This looks like a really indulgent chocolate loaf cake.

      Reply
    4. Cat | Curly's Cooking

      January 12, 2021 at 2:51 pm

      5 stars
      I love courgette in baking! This looks so moist and rich and I love a loaf cake!

      Reply
    5. Carrie Carvalho

      January 12, 2021 at 8:38 pm

      5 stars
      Yum! I love courgette cake but never tried it with chocolate before. This looks amazing!

      Reply
    6. Janice

      January 14, 2021 at 1:58 pm

      5 stars
      What a gorgeous dark chocolate cake with added health benefits 😉

      Reply
    7. Beth

      January 15, 2021 at 3:31 pm

      5 stars
      I love how courgette makes chocolate bakes so moist. This loaf cake looks delicious and I'll be giving it a go soon #CookBlogShare

      Reply
    8. Clare

      January 17, 2021 at 3:35 pm

      Lovely cake! I love veggies in cake
      Yum
      Cx #cookblogshare

      Reply
    9. Eb Gargano | Easy Peasy Foodie

      January 18, 2021 at 5:50 pm

      5 stars
      YUM! This looks so squidgy 😀 And I love how you've managed to sneak a portion of veg in here... so basically eating this cake counts as one of my 5 a day, no? 😉

      Reply
    10. Jacqui – Recipes Made Easy:Only Crumbs Remain

      January 18, 2021 at 7:03 pm

      5 stars
      I love a good loaf cake recipe, this one looks devine

      Reply
    11. Rebecca - Glutarama

      January 18, 2021 at 8:28 pm

      5 stars
      Love a cake with hidden veggies in it...shall I tell you something funny, I was scrolling through and reading the recipe and suddenly explained I CAN SEE GREEN, up until that point I'd been impressed there were no green flecks ... my kids spot them three miles off ... imagine my giggles when I realised it was my cursor hovering over your picture hahahahahahaaaaaa

      Reply
    12. Lucy

      January 22, 2021 at 11:34 am

      5 stars
      Such an easy to follow recipe with great results every time!! Absolutely delicious.

      Reply
    13. Mandy

      February 20, 2021 at 6:19 pm

      5 stars
      First recipe I’ve used of Baking Explorer and I wasn’t disappointed!
      I love recipes with veggies in and this one really makes the cake super moist! The added chocolate chips and melted chocolate on top just add to the rich taste.
      I find a lot of loaf cakes go quite dry as they take a long time to bake but not this one!
      Very much enjoyed it!

      Reply
      • thebakingexplorer

        February 20, 2021 at 8:36 pm

        Thank you so much for such lovely feedback Mandy! I'm so pleased you enjoyed the cake!

        Reply
    14. Megan

      August 12, 2021 at 8:14 am

      5 stars
      This loaf is amazing! Highly recommend. It'll probably be the tastiest chocolate cake you have ever eaten in your life. The perfect sticky chocolate loaf! I am in love! Thank you for blessing us with this recipe.

      Reply
    15. Evie

      September 04, 2021 at 2:25 pm

      Could you use this recipe for cupcakes? I'm wondering how much to reduce the baking time. Any suggestions?

      Reply
      • thebakingexplorer

        September 04, 2021 at 10:00 pm

        Hi Evie, I've never tried making cupcakes out of it, but I don't see why it wouldn't work. Most cupcakes usually take 20-25 minutes to bake. Let me know if you try it and how it goes!

        Reply
    16. Amanda M

      May 02, 2022 at 8:01 pm

      5 stars
      Made this with grated cocoa chocolate in place of powder and chips and baked as muffins - absolutely delicious 😋

      Reply
      • thebakingexplorer

        May 06, 2022 at 11:09 pm

        Sounds divine Amanda!

        Reply
      • Liz

        August 29, 2023 at 8:36 pm

        5 stars
        I made this cake and realised i had missed the natural yoghurt ! not a problem, the cake was still lovely and moist! Easy to make, you can't go wrong! looking forward to making it again, with ALL the ingredients this time! thanks for the great recipe.

        Reply
    17. Lin

      May 07, 2022 at 5:29 pm

      Don't suppose you have tried using olive oil instead of vegetable oil?

      Reply
      • thebakingexplorer

        May 08, 2022 at 9:33 am

        I haven't tried it no. I tend to avoid using olive oil as it can change the flavour of a cake, but the cake would still work using it.

        Reply
    18. Angele

      August 07, 2022 at 11:55 am

      5 stars
      Delicious cake and a great way to use up the odd courgette

      Reply
    19. Lucia

      August 26, 2022 at 5:26 pm

      5 stars
      I don't often write comments on recipes but on this one I just had to! Wow! What a delicious, moist and easy to make cake! I used self raising flour as didn't have a wholemeal one and a light brown sugar instead of a coconut one. I was initially worried that I would taste a courgette but no! This recipe is a definite keeper. I'm already planning to make another one. Thank you for sharing it and I'm off to browse your other recipes. ☺

      Reply
      • thebakingexplorer

        August 27, 2022 at 1:18 pm

        Thank you so much for your lovely comment Lucia - I really appreciate it and it helps other readers too, so thank you!!

        Reply
    20. Kat C

      September 15, 2022 at 4:06 pm

      Hi there, I'm about to use my glut of courgettes so looking forward to making this later! Have you tried freezing it afterwards? Do you think it would work ok? I love freezing cakes for emergencies but wondering if there would be too much moisture.

      Reply
      • thebakingexplorer

        September 15, 2022 at 8:50 pm

        Hi Kat, yes I've freezed it before and it freezes great!

        Reply
    21. Rach

      January 19, 2023 at 10:10 am

      This recipe looks wonderful and I'm looking forward to making it, however I have a tower air fryer what do you think the timings would be in one of these for baking? I'm new to the using of air fryers .. sorry if it's a bizarre question

      Reply
      • thebakingexplorer

        January 19, 2023 at 12:55 pm

        Hi Rach, I've never used an air fryer so I don't know sorry! I recommend baking this cake in an oven 🙂

        Reply
    22. Lindsay Savage

      July 31, 2023 at 9:19 pm

      5 stars
      Delicious cake! No-one guessed there was courgette in there and my family loved it!

      Reply
      • thebakingexplorer

        August 02, 2023 at 9:57 am

        Thank you for the feedback Lindsay, I'm so happy to hear they loved it!

        Reply
    23. Victoria

      October 27, 2023 at 10:39 pm

      I’m wondering if it would be okay to use Cacao powder instead of cocoa powder. I know cocao is more bitter to taste and wether I’d need to adjust the sugar in the recipe to balance it?

      Reply
      • thebakingexplorer

        October 28, 2023 at 8:29 pm

        Hi Victoria, I've never tried it myself but you could give it a try!

        Reply
    24. Karen

      January 16, 2024 at 11:17 am

      5 stars
      Absolute favourite cake recipe. Always comes out perfect, chocolatey, moist, delicious. I make it far more often than I probably should.

      Reply
    25. Annette

      October 06, 2024 at 8:46 pm

      Im thinking about doubling the recipe and making a sandwich cake with a vegan filling using cocoa powder and icing sugar and milk inside. Do you think this will work?

      Reply
      • thebakingexplorer

        October 08, 2024 at 11:14 am

        Hi Annette, I've not tried it myself but I don't see why not. I think doubling the recipe may be too much, I'd increase it by 50% as a first try.

        Reply
    26. Jade

      April 01, 2025 at 6:39 pm

      5 stars
      Is the calories and fat listed per serving or per 100g?

      Reply
      • thebakingexplorer

        April 02, 2025 at 9:45 am

        Per serving based on cutting it into 10 slices

        Reply

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