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The best and (easiest) Chocolate Zucchini Banana Cake with Vanilla Coffee Frosting. No fuss, super quick to mix up, and SO DELICIOUS! Yes, that pretty much sums up this zucchini banana cake. It’s the perfect simple cake to bake up this weekend and use up all that summer zucchini! With over-ripe bananas, zucchini, salted butter, and a good amount of creamy vanilla coffee frosting this is sure to become a favorite. Perfect as an afternoon snack or a late-night dessert.
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I’ve been holding onto this recipe for of couple weeks now, waiting for just the right time share. And today is the day! I wanted to wait until late August, when all of the garden fresh zucchini was at its peak harvest.
If you’re growing zucchini in the garden this year, my hope is that you have plenty on hand to bake up in this banana zucchini cake. And if you’re not a gardener, the grocery store should still be able to meet your needs.
Either way, you guys have to bake this cake this weekend. It’s one of my favorites of the summer.
The inspiration
First up, some of you may remember my banana cake from a few years back. It’s a reoccurring staple in my kitchen. And a recipe that’s so simple and easy to make, we just love it!
Secondly, summer zucchini. I love my recipes for zucchini bread that I’ve shared, but I’ve never tried making a zucchini banana bread. Once I had that idea it quickly shifted into more of a zucchini banana cake, since I really, really wanted to add a frosting.
And finally, the frosting. It was really my reason behind wanting to bake a cake. It’s a frosting recipe I developed for another recipe back in the fall of last year. And it’s one that I LOVE so much. Anything vanilla coffee is always a favorite.
I put the cake and the frosting together and something magical and delicious happened. This cake is so good!
Here’s how I make my zucchini banana cake
The first step is the zucchini. Here’s the thing, when baking with zucchini it’s really important to remove any excess moisture (so the water). You want to do this so your baked goods don’t end up super dense and watered down. Simply shred the zucchini, then ring the zucchini to squeeze out all the excess water. It’s really easy, the drier you can get the zucchini, the lighter your cake will be.
The rest of this recipe is VERY easy. The cake itself is made in just one large bowl!
Find yourself some very ripe bananas, I’m talking practically black bananas everyone. Very, very brown bananas are KEY. They keep this cake, flavorful, sweet, and incredibly moist.
Mash up the bananas and then mix with a little coconut oil, honey, a couple of eggs, and a splash of vanilla. Next, add the dry ingredients: flour, a pinch of cinnamon, and a dash of salt. Stir in some shredded zucchini and then fold in lots of chocolate chunks. The chocolate isn’t needed, but it certainly takes the cake to a whole new level.
Bake and 30 minutes later your house is going to smell incredible. Nothing smells better than a sweet banana based dessert baking away.
Now, on to that creamy vanilla coffee frosting
This is the real secret to this cake. It takes the recipe from average to really darn good.
I wanted the cream cheese frosting to be light and whipped with just the right amounts of vanilla and coffee flavored throughout. I used a bit of cream cheese to keep it light and creamy. Then added instant espresso powder and real vanilla for flavor.
It’s not your everyday frosting, but I promise it’s delicious.
Once the cake is out of the oven, let it cool, then frost and enjoy! Every last bite leaves you wanting another.
The perfect cake to bake up now, but also enjoy into fall. That frosting reminds me of a warming spice latte. It’s already getting me excited for what’s to come!
Looking for other sweet zucchini recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Chocolate Chunk Almond Butter Zucchini Bread
Sneaky Zucchini Chocolate Chunk Coconut Bread
Zucchini Peach Streusel Muffins
Lastly, if you make this Chocolate Zucchini Banana Cake with Vanilla Coffee Frosting, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Zucchini Banana Cake with Coffee Frosting
Ingredients
- 2 small zucchini, grated , (about 1 1/2 cups grated, before squeezing out water)
- 2 medium ripe bananas, mashed , (about 3/4 cup mashed)
- 1/2 cup melted coconut oil
- 1/3 cup honey
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon , (optional)
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chunks
Frosting
- 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, at room temperature
- 1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1 tablespoon instant coffee powder
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- 1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper.2. Place the shredded zucchini in a clean towel, then squeeze out any excess water. 3. In a large mixing bowl, stir together the mashed bananas, coconut oil, honey, eggs, and vanilla until combined. Add the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt, mix until just combined. Stir in the zucchini. Fold in the chocolate. Pour the batter into the prepared bread pan. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until the center is just set. Remove and let cool for at least 30 minutes before frosting.4. To make the frosting, dissolve the instant coffee in 1 tablespoon hot water. In a stand mixer, beat together the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the confectioners’ sugar, coffee, and vanilla. Beat until the frosting is light and fluffy, 2 to 4 minutes more. 5. Spread the frosting over cake. Slice, snack, and enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Wow. This one was most excellent. Great use of my garden zucchini and the overripe bananas. I loved the extra spin on the vanilla frosting with the coffee flavor. Thank you for a wonderful recipe.
Hey Rhiannon,
Awesome! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed and appreciate you giving it a go! Have a wonderful week:) xTieghan
Delicious !!! I just made it miam!
Hey Sonia,
Awesome! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed and appreciate you giving it a go! Have a wonderful week:) xTieghan
My goodness, all of my favourite things. I’m going to attempt make this into a loaf… Any coaching tips on ingredient adjustments and/or cooking time? I was just going to follow one of your zucchini bread recipes and hope for the best?!
Thanks a ton.
Hey there,
I would definitely increase your baking time to 50-60 minutes. Please let me know how it turns out! xTieghan
Amazing! I made into muffins and omitted the frosting to pass off as a “healthy” treat!! Can only imagine how good they’d be with the frosting!
Hey Kristi,
Awesome! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed and appreciate you giving it a go! Have a wonderful week:) xTieghan
This cake was fabulous! I bake a lot of cakes and I made no changes. It was plenty sweet and the frosting was perfect! If you want to omit the coffee easy to do or do half vanilla, half with coffee and let the kids dig in!
Hey Sue,
Awesome! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed and appreciate you giving it a go! Have a wonderful week:) xTieghan
This cake is amazing! The coffee vanilla icing takes it to a whole new level. Even my kids, who don’t like coffee, loved it and came back for more. So easy to put together as well. Thanks for sharing a great recipe!
Hey Samantha,
Awesome! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed and appreciate you giving it a go! Have a wonderful week:) xTieghan
Have you used this recipe to make cupcakes?? I was trying to figure out how long to bake them for
Hey Melissa,
I’ve never made cupcakes with this recipe, but I would start checking for doneness at 25. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Hi
Was wondering since i dint have the ingredients for the frosting, woud you recommend adding more sugar to the loaf?
Hey Ruba,
Nope, I would follow the recipe as is:) I hope you enjoy the cake, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
Oh my goodness, Teighan, you’ve done it again! This cake is incredible and the icing is simply divine. It was so hard to not just sit there and eat it all with a spoon. I will absolutely be making this again. Thank you!
Hey Erin,
Happy Sunday! Thanks a lot for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xxTieghan
The cake was fantastic. The coffee in the icing was not great. I liked it but no one else did. I will definitely make this again but skip the coffee part. I also added baking powder to give it a little more fluffing. Overall great recipe. Easy and fast.
Hey Michelle,
Happy Sunday! Thanks a lot for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xxTieghan
Well this turned out fabulous! I did add some sugar to the dry mix as I wanted the cake to be a bit more sweet. I also just made some vegan cream cheese frosting and it is epic! So glad I could use some of my zucchini and bananas in a yummy Saturday cake!
Hey Daniella,
Happy Sunday! Thanks a lot for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xxTieghan
This cake did not dissapoint. I saw it in my Bloglovin feed this morning and I knew I had to try it. I didn’t even need to go to the store because I had all the ingredients. (Well I was shy about 1 1/2 ounces of cream cheese so just subbed in a little Greek yogurt.) It came out so deliciously moist and sweet! We loved the coffee flavor too!
Hey Katie,
Happy Sunday! Thanks a lot for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was enjoyed! xxTieghan
Any thoughts on making this with whole wheat flour?
Hey Bonnie,
That should work just fine for you! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Looks good. Can another type of flour like coconut, oat or almond flour be used instead of all purpose white? Thanks!
Hey Michelle,
I would recommend using a GF flour blend. I hope this recipe turns out amazing for you, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
My son can’t have coconut. Can I sub the coconut oil with canola oil?
Hey Mary Ann,
Yes, that will work just fine for you. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
I certainly didn’t create this recipe, so I don’t want to speak out of turn, but generally (in my experience) swapping out coconut/canola/vegetable oil always seems to work out fine (especially if the coconut oil is meant to be melted anyway).