Dark Chocolate Zucchini Muffins... Or Cupcakes | Fork Knife Swoon

Grey, fall days call for chocolate. Preferably dark chocolate.

The morning I baked these chocolate zucchini muffins, the kitchen was in a state of recipe-testing chaos. These were the first out of the oven, rising perfectly, and filling the room with the sweet aroma of cocoa. The dishwasher was already running. The sink sat filled with a collection of mixing bowls and measuring cups, spatulas, and baking pans, piled and teetering at mad-hatter’s angles, and threatening to collapse at any moment. In fact, I was running out of mixing bowls. The duplicates and triplicates that usually keep things smoothly on track were disappearing, and the reserves were in a sorry state.

A misty, cloudy grey sky peeked through the pines… and a batch of glazed apple cider doughnut muffins in the oven quietly erupted. As I extracted them, and stared at the sad lot before me, an imploded, mess of apple cinnamon goodness blurring the edges of the muffin tin, these zucchini muffins became cupcakes.

Dark Chocolate Zucchini Muffins... Or Cupcakes | Fork Knife Swoon

Dark Chocolate Zucchini Muffins... Or Cupcakes | Fork Knife SwoonDark Chocolate Zucchini Muffins... Or Cupcakes | Fork Knife SwoonDark Chocolate Zucchini Muffins... Or Cupcakes | Fork Knife Swoon

The muffin (or should I say cupcake) base was already rich and chocolate-y, belying the big scoops of fresh zucchini tucked inside. In all honesty, and the aforementioned and motivating recipe failure aside, it was a fine line to begin with, between muffin and cupcake. All it really took was some dark chocolate buttercream frosting – glam-ed up with silky mascarpone – to transform these sweet, veggie-filled muffins into decadent, dessert-ready cupcakes. I promise you, no one will believe these chocolate beauties are filled with humble zucchini.

If you’ve tried these dark chocolate banana muffins – and love them as much as we do – these chocolate zucchini muffins are right up your alley. Particularly when turned into cupcakes, slathered with dark chocolate frosting, and devoured… grey day, or not.

Dark Chocolate Zucchini Muffins... Or Cupcakes | Fork Knife Swoon

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Dark Chocolate Zucchini Muffins... Or Cupcakes | Fork Knife Swoon

Dark Chocolate Zucchini Muffins… or Cupcakes.

★★★ 3 from 1 review
  • Author: Fork Knife Swoon
  • Prep Time: 25 mins
  • Cook Time: 20 mins
  • Total Time: 45 mins
  • Yield: 12 Muffins 1x
Print Recipe

Ingredients

Scale

Dark Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Dark Chocolate Mascarpone Buttercream Frosting

  • 4 cups (16 oz) powdered (confectioners) sugar, sifted
  • 6 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
  • 4 oz mascarpone, softened
  • 3–4 tbsp milk
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Instructions

Dark Chocolate Zucchini Muffins/Cupcakes

  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare a 12-cup muffin pan with paper cups or cooking spray.
  2. Grate the zucchini. Wrap the grated zucchini in paper towel or cheesecloth, and very gently squeeze to release extra liquid. You want the zucchini to be moist (this will help keep the muffins/cupcakes moist) but not dripping wet.
  3. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, espresso powder and salt, until well-combined. Set aside.
  4. In another large mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil and egg until very smooth and completely combined. Stir in the vanilla, followed by the zucchini. Gently fold in the flour mixture, and stir until just combined.
  5. Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pan, and bake for 17-19 minutes, until the muffin tops look set, and a cake-tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and let cool in the muffin pan for 5 minutes before transferring the muffins to a baking rack to cool completely.

Dark Chocolate Mascarpone Buttercream Frosting

  1. Sift the powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Set aside.
  2. In a stand-up mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and mascarpone on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. With the mixer on the lowest speed, add the powdered sugar and cocoa powder, about 1/4 cup at a time, until completely combined. Gradually increase the mixer speed to medium high. Add the milk and vanilla and mix until the frosting reaches your desired consistency. The frosting should be creamy but hold its shape.
  3. Immediately frost the (completely cooled) chocolate zucchini cupcakes, using a knife to spread, or a pastry bag to pipe on the frosting in the style of your choice. I used a #2d flower pastry bag tip for the frosting shown here.

Notes

Alternately, these muffins/cupcakes can be made into dark chocolate zucchini bread. Simply bake in a (greased) 9×5-inch loaf pan, for 40-50 minutes. Let cool on a baking rack (in the loaf pan) for at least an hour before removing and slicing.

 
Dark Chocolate Zucchini Muffins or Cupcakes | Fork Knife Swoon @forkknifeswoon