12 slices, about 90 minutes including a 15-minute rest. A lighter chocolate cake with Lebkuchen spices: three eggs, soy yogurt in place of half the oil, whole spelt and flaxseed for fiber.
Before you start
Quantity
Ingredient
Method
oven
Heat to 175 °C (fan 160 °C).
tin
Grease and line a 24 cm springform or a 25 × 11 cm loaf pan.
250 g
zucchini (about 1 medium)
Grate on the coarse side and press gently in a towel. Leave it fairly moist.
Batter
Quantity
Ingredient
Method
3
eggs
Whisk in a large bowl until pale and slightly thickened, 1–2 min.
90 g
granulated sugar
↑
50 g
honey
Whisk in.
0.6 dl
neutral oil (sunflower or rapeseed)
↑
120 g
unsweetened soy yogurt
↑
1 tsp
vanilla extract
↑
½
orange, zested
↑
90 g
plain flour
Sift directly over the bowl (tip any bran left in the sieve back in) and fold until just combined.
90 g
whole spelt or whole wheat flour
↑
30 g
unsweetened cocoa powder
↑
1 tsp
baking soda
↑
½ tsp
baking powder
↑
½ tsp
salt
↑
1½ tsp
cinnamon
↑
¼ tsp
ground cloves
↑
¼ tsp
ground cardamom
↑
¼ tsp
ground ginger
↑
1 pinch
nutmeg, freshly grated
↑
50 g
almond flour (blanched)
Stir in (these will not pass a sieve).
25 g
ground flaxseed
↑
grated zucchini
Fold in.
80 g
dairy-free dark chocolate chips (70%+)
Fold in last. Let the batter rest 15 min so the flaxseed and whole-grain flour can hydrate and bind.
Bake
Quantity
Ingredient
Method
batter
Scrape into the tin and smooth the top. Bake 42–48 min (springform) or 52–58 min (loaf), until a skewer shows a few moist crumbs but no wet batter. The extra egg makes the center set a little slower, so trust the skewer.
cake
Cool 20 min in the tin, then turn out onto a rack and cool completely before cutting. Better on day two.
Notes
The batter should be thick but not stiff. If it looks dry after the rest (flour brands vary), add a splash of oat milk.
Do not cut the oil further: the flaxseed, yogurt and third egg together do the binding.
For a richer version, use 0.9 dl oil and 100 g chocolate chips.
Keeps 4 days covered at room temperature, best within 3.