Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

Name: Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 25 min
Total time: 35 min
Ingredients: 1 1/2 c. zucchini (shredded); 1 egg; 3/4 c. buttermilk; 1/4 c. oil; 1 tsp. vanilla; 3/4 c. sugar; 3/4 c. all purpose flour; 3/4 c. cocoa powder; 1 tsp. baking soda; 1/4 tsp. baking powder; 1/4 tsp. salt; 1/2 c. mini chocolate chips; FROSTING; 8 oz. cream cheese (room temperature); 4 TBS. butter (room temperature); 4 TBS. cocoa powder; 3/4 c. powdered sugar; 1 1/2 TBS. milk

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These decadent chocolate zucchini cupcakes are moistened with shredded zucchini and frosted with chocolatey cream cheese frosting! If you’re looking for a fun and fresh way to use up your zucchini, look no further than these luscious cupcakes!

Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes with chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting sitting on white paper doilies

Why I Love These Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes

Zucchini is one of those vegetables that everyone seems to have in abundance! I absolutely love the green veggie, but after coming up with so many different recipes – like Zucchini Pizza Bites – to make sure it didn’t go to waste, I found myself at a loss.

That’s when I realized it was time to go to the sweet side, and when all else fails, we must turn to chocolate for the answers. Enter: Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes. This treat isn’t your standard zucchini bread recipe, it’s ten times better.

These cupcakes are moist, chocolatey, succulent, and smeared with cocoa cream cheese frosting. I know, I’m salivating too! I’m so excited for you to make this yummy and surprisingly simple dessert! You don’t have to tell the kids there’s zucchini in it, but trust me, once they get a taste they won’t even care.

Ingredients to Make Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

These cupcakes taste decadent and smooth, so you’d think they’d take a lot of work and special ingredients. Thankfully for us, that couldn’t be farther from the truth! We have two components to this recipe – the cupcakes and the frosting, and you need simple ingredients for both.

Cupcake Ingredients

Shredded zucchini
Egg
Buttermilk
Chocolate: cocoa powder and mini chocolate chips
Pantry staples: Flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, powdered sugar, oil, vanilla, and salt

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

Cream cheese
Butter
Cocoa Powder
Powdered sugar
Milk

Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting on a wood table

Instructions to Make Zucchini Cupcakes

Step 1: Combine Zucchini Mixture

Mix your shredded zucchini, egg, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla in a large mixing bowl until just combined.

Step 2: Mix Dry Ingredients

Combine the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium-sized mixing bowl.

Step 3: Combine Both and Add Chocolate Chips

Add the dry mixture to the wet zucchini mixture and stir everything just until it’s evenly moistened. Gently stir in the mini chocolate chips.

Step 4: Prep Muffin Cups and Bake

Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners and fill each with batter until they’re ⅔ full. Bake the cupcakes at 350 for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Step 5: Make Cream Cheese Frosting

Combine the cream cheese and butter and beat at a medium speed until the mixture is fluffy. Then, add cocoa powder, powdered sugar, and milk. Beat again until fluffy.

Step 6: Remove and Frost

Remove the cupcakes from the muffin tin and allow them to cool completely before frosting. Enjoy!

FAQs

What benefit does zucchini add to baked goods?

What doesn’t it add?! Zucchini gives baked goods really great moisture, texture, and added bulk, which I love. It’s also a vegetable, of course, so it’s full of nutrients. It’s kind of nice to eat a dessert knowing there’s a vegetable in it and you can’t even taste it!

Do you peel the zucchini skin before adding it to the cupcake batter?

There’s no need to remove the zucchini peel before shredding it. Go ahead and shred your zucchini with the skin on and then incorporate it into your batter.

Do I need to store this in the fridge since there’s zucchini in it?

I don’t think these cupcakes are going to last long enough to be stored, and I would recommend serving them the same day they’re baked. If you do have to store them, I would recommend keeping them in the fridge in an air-tight container for no more than 5 days. Not only for the zucchini but for the cream cheese frosting too!

How do you shred zucchini for baking?

All you have to do is chop off the top of the zucchini so one side is flat and then shred it against a grater.

More Zucchini Recipes to Try

Thanks so much for reading! Enjoy zucchini season and have fun making these yummy cupcakes!

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