
This chocolate zucchini cake is dairy and oil free. The inclusion of grated zucchini gives a tender and moist texture to the sponge, which prevents it from drying out during baking and storage. It is the perfect addition to an afternoon cup of coffee or tea.
This Chocolate Zucchini Cake Recipe is taken from Feeding Women of the Bible, Feeding Ourselves, a community cookbook project from Jewish Food Hero.
Honoring our female biblical characters
Feeding Women of the Bible, Feeding Ourselves is a community cookbook creation from Jewish Food Hero and is the co-creation of 40 Jewish women. There are twenty biblical narratives contributed by Rabbis, Rabbinical students, Jewish teachers and emerging thought leaders. Each narrative is matched with plant-based recipes to honor our biblical heroines. These recipes were developed by professional chefs, homecooks who are elementary school students, and great-grandmothers.

A chocolate zucchini cake for Sarah
This Chocolate Zucchini Cake Recipe is taken from Feeding Women of the Bible, Feeding Ourselves, where it was created by Jewish Food Hero to honor the Biblical heroine Sarah.
The story of Sarah makes me think about how women deal with strong emotion. Sometimes we act badly towards others, sometimes we treat ourselves badly, or both. When Sarah was experiencing sadness about not having her own child and was overcome with jealousy towards Hagar for being able to have a child so easily and quickly, what did she eat?
Sometimes when we feel sad or angry, we punish ourselves by eating too little, too much or by consuming foods that are not good for us. I offer this healthy chocolate cake as a nourishing treat for Sarah.


Chocolate Zucchini Cake Recipe – from “Feeding Women of the Bible”
- Author: Jewish Food Hero
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4-6
Ingredients
Tools
Large mixing bowl
Whisk
Medium mixing bowl
8×8 baking dish
Wire cooling rack
Spatula
Ingredients
1 cup (130 g) all-purpose flour/gluten-free all-purpose flour
⅓ cup (30 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
¾ cup (180 g) raw sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon sea salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup (150 g) zucchini, finely grated
¼ cup (60 ml) non-dairy milk
½ cup (125 g) applesauce
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Confectioners sugar, for dusting
Fresh berries, to serve
Instructions
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350 F (180 C) degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.
In a separate mixing bowl, stir together the zucchini, milk, applesauce, and vanilla extract.
Transfer the wet ingredients into the dry and fold the two together until well-combined, taking care not to overmix the batter.
Lightly oil a baking dish and pour in the batter. Smooth the top with a spatula.
Bake for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Remove cake from oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the cake pan and allow to cool completely on a wire cooling rack.
Serve garnished with confectioners sugar and fresh berries.
Keywords: vegan, plant-based, vegetable cake, chocolate
More recipes from Feeding Women of the Bible, Feeding Ourselves
If this Chocolate Zucchini Cake Recipe is your kind of thing, there’s plenty more to discover in Feeding Women of the Bible, Feeding Ourselves. Recipes include:
- Curried Winter Squash and Apple Soup to honor the story of Eve
- Israeli Veggie Couscous with “Popcorn” Cauliflower and Sweet Chili Sauce created for Ruth
- Coconut Lime Black Chip Popsicles for Yael
- Chinese Tofu Matzo Balls in Tianjin Sweet and Sour Sauce for Zipporah

Share your recipe with the Jewish Food Hero Community
If you have a favorite recipe you’d love to share, please submit it to Community Recipes. This is a recurring feature where we share your recipes on the Jewish Food Hero blog. If you want to share a recipe in this series, pitch us your idea here. This series is all about sharing Kosher recipes. We are creating a positive community around food and sharing.
Here are some examples to inspire you: