Dig into this crave-able Chocolate Zucchini Brownie Cake! It’s a circle of love, fudge and crumbles. Plus, it is gluten-free and vegan by default. Here’s looking to my sister who claimed chocolate zucchini desserts as her favorite combo!

Everyone will love this dessert even if they aren’t on a pegan diet!

If you’re looking for a FUDGY brownie, go for a batch of these unconventional rubies: Red Velvet Brownies.

This does not taste like chocolate salad or Hersehy’s zoodles. No, no, no. Zucchini’s trademark veggie taste fades into the background of a rich and moist-yet-tight crumb.

Chocolate Zucchini Brownie Cake

WHAT YOU’RE GONNA NEED:

• 1 cup finely grated zucchini (it should be a bit thinner than angel hair pasta.)
• 1/4 cup soy flour or soya protein powder*
• 1/4 cup almond flour or any nut meal
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 5 tablespoons cocoa powder, any darkness level
• 1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1 flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds + 3 tablespoons water)
• 2 tablespoons mashed banana or applesauce
• 5 tablespoons granular sweetener**
• 1 tablespoon dairy-free chocolate chips (for the love of your deity, DO NOT OMIT! Please and thanks.)

WHAT YOU’RE GONNA DO:

1. Go full-on maniac raccoon and shred that squash with a cheese grater.
2. Mix balsamic vinegar, flax egg, and mashed banana into the green mush.
3. In a separate medium bowl, stir together the soy flour, nut meal, baking soda, cocoa, and sugar sub.
4. Add dry to wet, including HALF the chocolate chips, and fold well until no dry streaks remain.
5. Pour into a 6-inch cake pan*** and top with remaining chips. Bake for 15-20 minutes. It’s okay to check after the 150-minute mark if you don’t trust your oven (like me, tee-hee.)
6. Cool your brownie cake and gather some toppings. I went with an almond butter carob frosting and fresh banana slices.
7. Cut yerself a piece and eat mindfully. Shine on and all that.

INFO DE NUTRITION per 1/4 recipe: 105 calories | 7.2g protein | 5g fiber | 6g fat (1g saturated)

*Okay, soy-freers, listen up. Soya flour is an integral part of the texture for this baked good. However, you can substitute another plant-based protein powder such as hemp or pea. If this, too, is unavailable or undesired, 2 tablespoons of coconut flour will work in a pinch. Hey, maybe you can go all tropical and add some coconut extract, coconut shreds, rum, you get the idea.

**I love monk fruit. I will die on the monk fruit hill (er, mountain.) But any granulated sweetener, diabetic-friendly or not, is lovely here. Except date sugar. Save that for oatmeal.

***Alternative pan sizes: 8-inch brownie pan, 7×5 rectangular Pyrex, 3 jumbo muffin cups, 1 9×5 loaf pan, 3 heart-shaped mini springform pans. The batter will fit into just about anything but your final baked product may be a bit thin/thick. Just don’t go whole 9×13 baking dish on me!

Now, host a healthy holiday baking party (like the one I’m going to next week, eek!) and wow your vegan, paleo, keto, intermittent-fasting, primal, plant-based, and allergy-ridden friends!

Best Dishes,

The Hippie Happy Foodist™