Chocolate Courgette Cake with Cocoa Crumble Topping

When you’re in the thick of courgette season, you either find creative ways to use them or you surrender to courgette overload. I’m firmly in the let’s use them all camp—so I baked this rich, chocolate courgette cake with a cocoa crumble topping.

I loved how the courgettes completely melted into the cake, giving it a lovely moist texture without any courgette taste. It’s the kind of cake I want to bake again later in the year when the courgette glut is long gone. That got me thinking—can you freeze grated courgettes to use later in a cake like this? The answer is yes!

Can You Freeze Courgettes for Baking?

Yes, you can freeze grated courgettes to use later in cakes and bakes. It’s actually a brilliant way to preserve them when you have a bumper crop.

Here’s what works best:

• Grate and Portion: Grate the courgettes and squeeze out a bit of the excess moisture with your hands. No need to fully dry them—just get rid of the dripping liquid.

• Pack for Baking: Freeze the grated courgettes in portions that match your favourite cake recipes. For this chocolate courgette cake, I’ll freeze 350g portions.

• Thaw and Use: When you’re ready to bake, thaw the courgettes at room temperature. They’ll release some extra water as they defrost, which you can stir straight into the cake batter. If they seem too wet, you can gently drain off a little of the liquid.

Frozen courgettes might look a bit soggy when defrosted, but that’s totally fine for a cake like this where the moisture is a bonus.

The Recipe I Want to Bake Again

Here’s the chocolate courgette cake I made and plan to repeat with my freezer stash.

For the Cake:

150g butter, melted, plus extra for greasing

80g spelt flour

120g rye flour

8 tbsp cocoa powder

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

280g light brown soft sugar

200ml buttermilk

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 medium courgettes, grated (approx. 350g)

100g dark chocolate (75-80%), finely chopped

For the Crumble Topping:

150g plain flour

4 tbsp cocoa powder

75g butter

50g brown sugar

100g white chocolate chips

Making the Cake

1 – Prepare the Chocolate Crumble

In a large bowl, mix together the plain flour and cocoa powder.

Add the cold butter and rub it into the flour mixture using your fingertips until it resembles breadcrumbs.

Stir in the brown sugar and white chocolate chips until evenly combined.

Place the crumble mixture in the fridge to chill while you prepare the cake batter.

2 – Make the Cake Batter

In a big bowl, mix the spelt flour, rye flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, light brown soft sugar, and ½ tsp salt.

In a separate jug, whisk together the melted butter, buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla extract.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.

Add the grated courgettes and chopped dark chocolate.

Fold everything together until just combined.

3 – Assemble and Bake

Pour the cake batter into the prepared cake tin.

Sprinkle the chilled chocolate crumble evenly over the top.

Bake at 180°C (160°C fan) for 45-50 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out with a few moist crumbs but no wet batter.

Let the cake cool in the tin for 15 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

It’s a beautifully soft, chocolatey cake with little pockets of melted white chocolate on top.

Why I Love This Cake

This is the kind of bake that makes you feel like you’ve just pulled off a brilliant seasonal trick. You’re using up courgettes, sneaking vegetables into dessert, and getting a tender, rich chocolate cake at the end of it. Plus, with the option to freeze courgettes, I can enjoy this cake beyond summer. I can also easily adjusted to make it sugar for using xylitol.

I’ll definitely be freezing courgettes this year just so I can make this cake again when the garden is quiet.

Have You Tried Freezing Courgettes?

If you’ve got your own tips for preserving courgettes or a favourite courgette cake recipe, I’d love to hear! Drop me a comment or let me know on Instagram.