This Chocolate Zucchini Cake Roll is a chocolate lovers dream - a soft, moist chocolate sponge rolled Swiss-roll style around a spiced cream cheese filling with a hint of heat.
I had an abundance of zucchini one summer and decided to experiment - a chocolate cake roll with the zucchini baked right in. Since it was heading into fall, I thought a touch of heat would go nicely in the cream cheese filling, so I added a pinch of cayenne.
Quick Overview:
- Ready in about 30 minutes, start to finish - just 10 minutes in the oven.
- A chocolate sponge cake rolled jelly-roll style around a spiced cream cheese filling.
- Feeds 12, at 226 calories a slice.
- Needs fridge time to set before slicing, so it's easy to make ahead.
Jump to:
Why You'll Love This Chocolate Zucchini Cake Roll
- The zucchini keeps the sponge moist without adding any vegetable taste you'd notice.
- That hint of cayenne in the filling plays off the chocolate in a way a plain cream cheese frosting can't.
- It looks like a bakery showstopper, but it's genuinely simple once the cake is rolled and cooled.
Key Ingredients
Zucchini: shredded and stirred right into the batter, it adds moisture to the sponge without any vegetable taste coming through.
Unsweetened cocoa powder: gives the sponge its deep chocolate flavor without the extra fat melted chocolate would add, which matters for a cake that needs to stay flexible enough to roll.
Cream cheese and butter: the base of the filling, beaten until fluffy so it holds its shape once the cake is rolled back up.
Cinnamon and cayenne: cinnamon runs through both the cake and the filling, and a small pinch of cayenne in the filling is what gives this cake its kick.
How to Make Chocolate Zucchini Cake Roll
This one comes together fast - the thin sheet of batter bakes in just 10 minutes, so don't wander off. The part that actually matters is the roll: the second it comes out of the oven, flip it out onto a sugared cheesecloth (or cotton towel) and roll it up right then, while it's still hot. Keep it rolled as it cools completely - that's what trains it into the shape and keeps it from cracking later. Once its fully cool, unroll it, spread on the spiced cream filling, and roll it back up before refrigerating.
Substitutions
For a dairy-free version, swap the cream cheese and butter for dairy-free versions and use a non-dairy milk in the cake.
Variations
- Add ½ teaspoon nutmeg to the cake batter along with the cinnamon or instead of.
- Instead of cayenne pepper in the cream, add a pinch of chipotle powder.
- Eliminate the cayenne pepper and add ⅛ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg in its place.
- Use almond extract in place of vanilla extract in the spiced cream.
- Make chocolate glaze and pour it over top of the cake.
- Add ½ cup chocolate chips (mini) and 1 teaspoon of espresso powder to the batter.
Top Tips
- Grate the zucchini and let it sit in a strainer to drain.
- Put a small amount of vegetable shortening or butter on a paper towel and rub the shortening over the bottom of the sheet pan. This will help keep the parchment placed on top adhered to the sheet pan.
- If you don't have cheesecloth, find a large cotton towel that is as large as the jelly roll pan, if not a little larger. You will want to be sure the towel you use has no fibers on it that would stick to the cake.
- Measure the ingredients and have them all ready to use when needed.
Serving Suggestions
Serve this chocolate zucchini roll with a scoop of homemade vanilla bean ice cream, a hot cup of coffee, or hot tea.
Storage
Store this chocolate zucchini cake wrapped in plastic wrap to help it keep its shape. Store in the refrigerator up to 5 days, in the freezer up to 3 months.
You May Be Wondering
A cake roll is basically a swiss roll without the chocolate coating. It is usually a sponge cake that comes together and bakes up quickly is filled with a cream or spread with jelly and rolled.
As soon as it comes out of the oven, turn the cake out onto a cotton towel or cheesecloth dusted with confectioners' sugar and roll it up right away, starting at the short end, while it's still hot. Let it cool completely while rolled, so it holds that shape.
A cracked cake is usually the sign of a dry cake - not enough moisture in the batter, or too much flour. It can also crack if you wait too long to roll it; roll it while it's still warm and pliable, not after it's cooled all the way.
Related Recipes
Another recipe for chocolate lovers, this Chocolate Zucchini Bread is absolutely delicious and goes great with a hot cup of tea or coffee.
Everyone loves these Zucchini Chocolate Chip Cookies!
Chocolate Banana Zucchini Muffins are a perfect portable breakfast with good for you ingredients.
Sugar and spice makes these Zucchini Spice Cookies nice (and delicious!).
If you give this recipe a try, I'd love to hear how it turned out! Please leave a comment and ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating below to let me know how you liked it. Don't forget to tag me on Instagram @grumpyshoneybunch so I can see your beautiful salad bowls!
📖 Recipe
Chocolate Zucchini Cake Roll with Spiced Cream
Equipment
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Ingredients
For the Cake
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup flour
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup milk
- ½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup shredded zucchini , drained
For the Spiced Cream
- 8 ounces cream cheese , softened
- 6 tablespoon butter , softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
- 1 cup confectioners' sugar
Instructions
For the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Prepare the sheet pan by coating it with solid shortening, then lay a piece of parchment paper on top of the prepared pan. Coat the top of the parchment paper with shortening.side. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, using an electric hand mixer, whisk together the eggs and vanilla extract. In another bowl, Combine the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.
- Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients alternately with the milk and mix well. Stir the drained zucchini into the chocolate cake batter.
- Pour batter into the prepared baking pan, spreading the batter out to evenly coat the bottom of the pan. Bake for 10 minutes, until the cake springs back when gently touched or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- While the cake is baking, lay cheesecloth over a large board and sprinkle with powdered sugar.
- Once the cake is baked, Immediately turn the sheet cake onto prepared cheesecloth. Peel off the parchment paper and roll the cake up, jelly-roll style, starting with a short side. Allow cake to cool completely while rolled up.
For the spiced cream:
- In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, butter, vanilla, cinnamon and cayenne pepper until fluffy. Beat in confectioners' sugar. Set aside.
To assemble the cake:
- Once the cake has cooled, unroll cake; spread filling to within 1 inch of edges. Roll up again and wrap tightly with plastic wrap.
- To serve, slice and sprinkle lightly with confectioners sugar (if desired).
Marion Myers says
Awesomely delicious!! Easy to make and everyone loved this cake. It disappeared quickly. Thank you for sharing this recipe!! I’ll definitely be coming back to make it again and again
CookiePie says
Beautiful cake - and I love the "secret ingredient"!!
teresa says
this is amazing, i love the cayenne pepper. whoever thought to put zucchini in a cake was a genius!
Nutmeg Nanny says
Delicious! I would love a glorified hoho 🙂
Shelby says
Thats right Deeba - the only place there is butter is in the cream cheese filling...
Deeba PAB says
Right...I love this! I've read the recipe 3 times {no butter/oil}? WOW!! I stopped making my last chocolate zucchini cake as it had way too much butter. Bookmarking this, and loving your guinea pigs! Sounded like fun!