Super light, fluffy and (dare I say it?) moist chocolate cupcakes piled high with the creamiest, dreamiest chocolate frosting ever. I swear, these chocolate zucchini cupcakes taste so good you'll never bother with ordinary cupcakes ever again. And the best part of it all is that they're healthy! Yes, healthy chocolate cupcakes are now a thing. Enjoy!
What's life without chocolate? Nothing - that's what! I'm not sure I could survive without chocolate. I mean, I literally eat chocolate for breakfast. Chocolate chip cookie dough overnight oats, anyone? Maybe I could go without chocolate for a couple of days or even a couple of weeks. But for forever? Nope. I'm pretty sure I'd be a horrible mess of cranky, angry, irritable, sad and annoyed. Yes, even more than normal. And so that never happens, I need to have lots of healthy chocolate recipes!
Like these chocolate zucchini cupcakes. It's not often you hear the words "healthy" and "chocolate" together in the same sentence, but that's what these cupcakes are all about! Get ready to have your mind blown. They contain no actual chocolate but they've got a super intense chocolate flavor which comes from unsweetened cocoa powder. I guess you could throw a handful of chocolate chips into the batter if you really wanted. Why not? It's Friday!
If you do add some chocolate chips, don't feel too bad about it. There are two hidden veggies in these chocolate zucchini cupcakes, after all! Okay, so maybe the zucchini isn't exactly hidden since the name is in the title. But I bet you'll never guess what the other veggie is. Go on, I'll give you a minute to come up with some ideas...
It's avocado! In the frosting! Using a really ripe avocado is the secret to getting the most amazing chocolate frosting ever. Since I first discovered it a few years ago, I've never bothered with another chocolate frosting recipe. Because when you've found perfection, why carry on looking?
So you've got zucchini in the cupcake and avocado in the frosting. These chocolate zucchini cupcakes are so healthy you could practically eat them for breakfast. I'm not really suggesting you eat cupcakes for breakfast, but I bet these ones are a lot healthier than most breakfast muffins you get in bakeries!
📖 Recipe
Ingredients
- ½ cup shredded zucchini
- 1 medium egg
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons Greek yogurt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 small ripe avocado
- 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
- 2 tablespoons honey
- optional sprinkles
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325F and line 6 holes of a muffin tin with paper cupcake liners.
- To make the cupcakes, in a large bowl, mix together the zucchini, egg, sugar, yogurt and vanilla. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, cocoa powder and baking soda. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until the mixture just comes together.
- Evenly divide the cupcake batter between the cupcake liners and bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, until a toothpick, when inserted into the center, comes out clean. Leave to cool in the muffin tin on a wire rack.
- To make the frosting, place the avocado in a medium-size bowl and mash it until there are no lumps. (Here's a trick to ripen an avocado fast if yours isn't ripe.) Beat in the cocoa powder and honey until totally combined and the mixture develops a frosting-like consistency. Spoon it on the top of cooled cupcakes and top with sprinkles.
Pamela @BrooklynFarmGirl
These cupcakes look amazing and moist!
Nicola
Thank you so much, Pamela!!
Roxana
These look absolutely delicious. Love the recipe.
Nicola
Thanks so much, Roxana!
Daniela Anderson
It looks like a lovely combination, l have never used zucchini in dessers, just savoury dishes, so l must give these little beauties a try. I can never say no to some yummy cupcakes!
Nicola
Once you start using zucchini in desserts, you'll want to put it in everything! It adds loads of moisture and vitamins, but you can't ever tell it's there!
Hannah Healy
Yumm! These looks absolutely amazing. Perfect for Spring!
Nicola
Thanks so much, Hannah! They really are a wonderful spring dessert!
Lucy @ Supergoldenbakes
I never would have guessed that the frosting is made from avocado. It's so shiny I assumed it was a regular chocolate glaze or ganache. These are very clever little treats - genuinely far healthier than the average chocolate cupcake.
Nicola
I know! Before I tried it myself, I thought avocado frosting would be beyond disgusting, but it really isn't. It's just creamy, chocolatey loveliness!
Amy
I need to try a healthy version of chocolate cupcakes. These look like they are so yummy!
Nicola
Once you switch to this healthy recipe, you'll never make ordinary chocolate cupcakes again!