Chocolate Mocha Zucchini Birthday Cake

Yesterday, I mentioned that Iris from The Daily Dietribe had issued a Gluten-free Birthday Cake Challenge. This chocolate zucchini cake makes for a sweet moist treat that is not only gluten-free, but dairy-free and refined sugar-free as well. This recipe uses the chocolate version of my Swiss Buttercream. Be sure to check back at The Daily Dietribe for many other fun birthday cake recipes.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Yields two 8" or 9" round cake layers (for a 2-layer cake)Ingredients for the Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Dry:

• 2.5 oz (1 cup) cocoa powder
• 5 oz (1 cup) millet flour
• 1.5 tsp aluminum free baking soda (I use Bob's)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp chia seed meal (you can grind up chia seeds in a coffee grinder)
  

Wet:

• 2 eggs (should be 3.5 oz, de-shelled
• 5 oz (1/2 cup) unsweetened apple sauce
• 4 oz (1/2 cup) honey
• 8 oz finely grated zucchini (2 cups firmly packed, after grating)
• 2 oz (4 Tbsp) coconut oil, melted (or can sub part or all Earth Balance spread)
  

Method

• Heat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two 8" or 9" cake pans with parchment paper, and grease with coconut oil.
• Sift all dry ingredients together in a large bowl.
• Whisk together all wet ingredients and add them to the dry.
• Spread even amounts of batter into each cake pan. Tip: if you bang the cake pan on the counter a couple times, and then spin it around fast right before you place the cake pans in the oven, you get a pretty even, level cake layer. And it's a good way to get out some aggression :)
• 
  
• Bake at 325 F for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Mocha Mousse Filling

Yields one cup of mousse (enough to fill and 8" or 9" cake)

Ingredients

• 1 banana
• 1/2 avocado
• 2 dates
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 tsp coffee extract (can sub 1 Tbsp of strong brewed coffee or espresso)
• 2 Tbsp coconut oil, melted

Method

• Add all ingredients together, except the melted coconut oil, into a food processor or high powered blender and puree.
• Then add in the melted coconut oil and blend until incorporated.
• Store in the refrigerator until ready to fill cake.

Assemble and Decorate how you like for the Special Occasion

• I used one piping bag with an Ateco 23 (small star shape) tip. I place one layer down and pipe a ring of icing around the outer circle with the piping bag.
• Then I spread the mousse filling into the circle, smoothed it level with an off-set spatula, and topped it with the other layer top side down (so the flat side is on top).
• My cakes turned out even enough I didn't level them- but if your oven bakes uneavenly you may have to slice the cake layers level before assembling (more for you to snack on while you decorate :)
• Then I iced the cake and gave it a border.
• This one is also topped with raw cacao nibs for a bit of a crunch.

Happy Birthday Cake Making,
Eryn