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These Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes will blow your minds! Soft, sweet, moist! The Poured Chocolate Frosting will make you want to never pipe frosting onto cupcakes again! This stuff is what dreams are made of. Basically like a cross between my Zucchini Brownies and Chocolate Cupcakes. YUM!
Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes |A Chocolate Delight
These chocolate zucchini cupcakes with poured chocolate frosting…Lemme tell you, will change your life. They taste as chocolatey and sweet as they look and are pretty fast to throw together 🙂 Shredding the zucchini a little finer, wringing it out and then stirring it into the cake batter keeps these cupcakes moist while going mostly undetected because of all that cocoa powder. So delicious!
Main Ingredients Needed
Start by gathering up these ingredients to make these incredible Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes:
For the Cupcakes
- Butter + Vegetable oil – to flavor and moisten.
- Sugar – to sweeten.
- Vanilla + Cocoa Powder – two flavoring ingredients. Vanilla is more subtle while the unsweetened cocoa powder makes these cupcakes chocolatey.
- Egg – used for structure and texture.
- Sour Cream – for creamy texture.
- Baking Soda+ Baking Powder – to help the cupcakes rise.
- Salt – to balance out all the flavors.
- Flour – this fills out the cupcakes.
- Zucchini – for its high moisture content. Be sure to wring out with paper towels before adding to the batter.
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips – to sweeten and to add more chocolatey goodness.
For the Frosting
- Butter – for flavor.
- Chocolate Syrup – for that chocolatey flavor (I used Hershey’s brand).
- Milk – for a pourable consistency.
- Vanilla – for flavor.
- Powdered Sugar – to sweeten and to thicken the frosting.
- Sprinkles (optional) – add some red and white sprinkles for festive Valentine’s Day cupcakes.
How to Make Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes |Directions
For full details on how to make Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes, see the recipe card down below 🙂
Step 1: Preheat Oven + Grate Zucchini
Preheat the oven.
Wash and grate zucchinis. Wring out excess water and set aside. I used my stand mixer and grater attachment, but a manual box grater will do the job as well. Line muffin tins with paper liners and set them aside.
Step 2: Mix
Add butter, oil, sugar, vanilla, egg, and sour cream in the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Slowly incorporate dry ingredients. Scrape sides of the bowl and stir again to ensure even mixing. Stir in grated zucchini and chocolate chips.
Step 3: Fill Muffin Tins + Bake
Scoop into lined muffin tins bake until completely cooked.
Step 4: Make Frosting
Once cupcakes come out of the oven, melt butter, chocolate syrup and milk together in a small saucepan. Once butter has melted and mixture has come to a light bubble, remove from heat and whisk in vanilla and powdered sugar until smooth.
Spoon over warm cupcakes and top with sprinkles if desired. I was a little heavy-handed, but that is not a bad problem to have. #Ilovechocolate
After everything cools, the tops start to harden slightly and they become even more amazing!
Want More Cupcake Recipes to Try? Check These Out:
- Double Vanilla Cupcake Recipe
- Double Chocolate Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream
- Perfect Chocolate Cupcakes with Easy Vanilla Frosting
- Oreo Cupcakes
Overall, a great treat for Valentine’s Day!
The printable recipe card is below. Enjoy 🙂
Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes with Poured Chocolate Frosting
Ingredients
for the cupcakes
- 1/4 cup softened butter
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar + 6 tablespoons
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 egg
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 cups zucchini grated and wrung out
- 1/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
for the frosting
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 1/4 cup hershey’s chocolate syrup
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- sprinkles optional
Instructions
- Using a food processor or box grater, grate 1-2 small zucchinis. Wring out excess water and set aside. Line muffin tins with paper liners and set aside.
- Stir butter, oil, sugar, vanilla, egg and sour cream in the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment until light and fluffy. Slowly incorporate dry ingredients. Scrape sides of bowl and stir again to ensure even mixing. Stir in grated zucchini and chocolate chips.
- Scoop into lined muffin tins 2/3 full and bake at 350 degrees for 17-20 minutes or until completely cooked.
- Once cupcakes come out of the oven, melt butter, chocolate syrup and milk together in a small saucepan over medium low heat. Once butter has melted and mixture has come to a light bubble, remove from heat and whisk in vanilla and powdered sugar until smooth. Spoon over warm cupcakes and top with sprinkles if desired. Serve.
The first thing I’d use it for would be to make raspberry scones.
Chocolate Chip Cookies! YUM!
I’d make a batch of cupcakes for my child’s upcoming birthday party!
Paleo cauliflower green onion pancake!
I have a Pinterest board full of possibilities!
I make my husband’s favorite , chocolate chip pudding cookies!
Probably banana-zucchini bread! This attachment looks great!
For sure I will do a huge red velvet cake production with that awesome KA!
I love making things that incorporate veggies and my son can’t tell they are in there!
Macarons!!
I’d make lots and lots of cupcakes 🙂
I have been craving homemade pizza. I would love to make pizza dough with a beautiful new mixer!
I would love to make homemade egg noodles, breads, and learn to make everything else homemade with my machine and the attachments.
id like to make some bread and some cookies
I need these cupcakes in my life. Totally want to make them. Yum!
Zucchini cupcakes, they look delicious!
a cheesecake!!! yummm!
Zucchini cupcakes first and anything else with chocolate.
Wow, I have so many items I would love to make with the KitchenAid Mixer that I don’t know where to begin. But, it certainly wouldn’t be just to look good in my kitchen!
I love love ur sugar cookies! Would have to make that 😉
I’d make some carrot cake. Grating carrots is the worst part about the recipe and this would make it so much easier!
Excited to make anything! I’ve never had a KitchenAid so it will be a first for me 🙂
Of course I would make this zucchini cupcakes! I’m so excited about this food processor attachment! I chop a lot of summer vegetables.
I would make some yummy cakes and desserts!(:
Pizza dough
Bread! Any sort of dough would be fabulous to make in this!
Cheesecake.
I would make bread! I love working with doughs and for the past 3 years, I’ve kneaded by hand. Although that has certainly given me some muscle, I would love to have a mixer to knead for me. 🙂
Zucchini bread!!!!
I never knew about all the attachments for Kitchen aid mixers. I LOVE to bake for my hubby’s office and a big mixer like this would be glorious!
I would first use it on cupcakes for my son’s 2nd birthday next week and then to make cupcakes for my business. I love to bake and having a KA would definitely make it easier.
That’s a beautiful mixer..!!! I can only imagine the desserts and other bakes o can do with this
I love to bake especially breads so I would use it to knead breads. Have a lot of arthritis in my hands and could use the help.
Red velvet cupcakes!
Cookies. Always cookies.
Something with butter cream frosting!
I love zucchini loaf cake…but frosted cupcakes?…That sounds delicious!
I would definitely start with these yummy looking cupcakes! Then I would make my all time favorite carrot cake with lots and lots of cream cheese icing!!!
Fabulous giveaway- thank you! I am always whipping up something & often have multiple recipes going at once. I always like to break in anything new for the kitchen with a batch of chocolate chip cookies first.
I would let the Kitchen Aid do all the hard work in bread making.
I would make a red velvet bundt cake. I’ve been wanting to make one for awhile now and if I had this Kitchen Aid Mixer I would go for it!!!
What wouldn’t I make with that mixer. I have so many recipes for it. The first thing I would make would be zucchini chocolate bread. It would be such a God send if I win. I would use the mixer everyday. I have been wanting to get one like forever. I’ll get the other attachments like the pasta and the ice cream. Oh, joy. It has a glass bowl.
I have a small baking business from my home and I would want to make a zucchini bread with this!!! Plus tons and tons of others!
I have never heard of sleep shopping before. That could get expensive. I wonder if this is a first??? Maybe you could make it into some book about strange phenomenon.
First I would make a Texas sheet cake that I’ve been craving, then…the possibilities are endless
These look great! I would try a carrot cake…just in time for Easter!
These chocolate cupcakes would be my first task with my new mixer. My kids would never know how sneaky mom can be when it comes to getting veggies in them, brahahaha! ( that’s my witchy po laugh)
I would use mine for so many things – pizza dough, desserts, and muffins to name a few. 🙂
The possibilities are endless!! I’ve always wanted one to make breads and desserts and dinner! My kids and I could really have fun with this!!
I’m a bread girl and just mixed up my breadsticks this morning using my bread machine so I think I’d give them a try using this to see how they turn out. Those cupcakes look so good too!