Zucchini Bread Cake

Do you love a good zucchini bread but don’t love the carb heaviness of it?

Well, wait no longer! I have an amazing recipe for you that is gluten free, dairy free, and refined sugar free.

But first a story.

Several years ago, I was really, really struggling with my health. I was dealing with chronic pain and debilitating fatigue. And while I still struggle with those things, I am doing much better these days.

When I was in the throes of figuring out how to get feeling better, I found myself very confused about what foods were supporting my body and which foods were trigger foods.

Maybe you can relate.

Does this sound familiar? Eat only organic, don’t eat any refined sugar, vegetarian, no gluten whatsoever, no meat, no grains, paleo, vegan, low fat, count your carbs, intermittent fasting, 5-day per week vegetarian, no dairy, raw, only eat foods in their whole form, count your macros, GFDF (gluten free, dairy free), high protein, low protein, low salt, high fat, eat local foods, keto, GAPS, and the list goes on!!

In fact, I just looked through my pantry and fridge and just about every single item in there I have read at some point that that particular food is “bad” for you.

So, what is to be done?

Which of all these voices is right?

I have spent so much time and effort trying to figure it all out, only to feel ever more confused that I’m not “doing it right.”

I finally found peace deep within my soul when I found information from a lady named Angie Christensen. She has been teaching about nutrition for many, many years but she never tells you what to eat. Instead, she teaches principles (that are grounded in the truths found in nature and in scripture) as well as learning to listen to your own unique body.

Finally! It all makes sense!!

Of course none of the “diets” out there work. Because they totally miss the mark that each body and situation is unique. And that the earth teaches us exactly what to do if we only learn to listen!!

Angie has online classes and programs that you can buy to learn these truth-centered food principles taught to us by the earth. I highly recommend her basic class.

In it, she goes through each food category (sugars, fats, proteins, etc) and teaches how to learn what will be best for your own unique body.

And she includes recipes that you can use that work with her 4 cornerstone principles.

You can check out her program here.  SimplyDivineEating.com

Also, for simplicity’s sake, I really like Michael Pollan’s 3 simple food rules that says “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” Love it!! Such a simple philosophy.

He wrote a small book that goes into a bit more detail on those 3 food rules. For example, when he says “Eat food” he means REAL food, not creations of our modern food industry. Things that don’t have a long ingredient list (or more likely any ingredient list) and certainly doesn’t contain maltodextrin or monosodium glutamate. Real food is something that your great-grandma (or at least someone’s great-grandma) would recognize.

I love his simple food principles and wisdom that he shares in his little book. You can check it out here. Food Rules by Michael Pollan. 

And now, without further ado…

I have a really great recipe for you that I originally learned from Angie for zucchini bread (and that I have tweaked to my own liking).

In this case, I’m sharing it with you in the form of a cake.

But it is equally good baked in a loaf pan and served as zucchini bread!

This cake is what I made for myself for my birthday this year!  I really didn’t want a cake full of refined sugar and gluten and hydrogenated fats, so I made this beauty instead.

The frosting was fudgy and rich (and has a secret vegetable ingredient in it too!) Check the recipe to see what it is!

I found myself eating this for breakfast for a few days afterward, it was that good (and guilt-free!)

The base of this zucchini bread cake is soaked lentils which sounds really strange but they are neutral enough to get covered up by the other flavors.

I will warn you though, the raw batter has a strong lentil smell but once it is baked, you can’t even tell that it has lentils in it.

So don’t be scared! 😂

This zucchini bread/cake is high in protein and fiber and healthy fats and tastes great too!

It’s actually just a sweet bread recipe with flavor variations. For example, you can omit the zucchini and the spices and instead add mixins for any of these flavors: banana bread, cranberry orange bread, pumpkin bread, or gingerbread.  Or anything else your imagination can dream up, really.

Tip: The longest part of this recipe is soaking the lentils. I will often soak a large batch of lentils and then portion them out into freezer bags with just enough in each bag for one recipe.

If you would like to learn how to grow zucchini (or any type of squash for that matter) in your garden, check out my post about that, here.

If you are already growing zucchini or other squash and are having trouble with squash bugs, check out my post about it here.

And if you are growing zucchini in your garden and have WAY TOO MUCH and don’t know what to do with it all, check out my round-up post with 53 zucchini recipes from top food bloggers, here.

Or if you don’t want to grow your own zucchini, these recipes totally work with zucchini from the grocery store too. 😉

Or maybe you’re looking for an entirely different dessert recipe to try.  If so, check out my Best pumpkin pie from scratch recipe here.  It won’t disappoint!

I really hope you try this zucchini bread recipe (or any others from my round-up post). It really is one of my very favorites!

Let me know if you try this recipe in the comments below. Or any other thoughts you’d like to share!!

Happy Zucchini Bread/Cake making!

Print Recipe

Zucchini Bread Cake

A gluten free, dairy free, no refined sugar zucchini bread or cake.  Made with soaked brown lentils as the base.  Delicious and healthy!

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Total Time50 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups soaked brown lentils - see note
• 1/3 cup raw honey (more or less depending on how sweet you want it)
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 cup shredded zucchini
• 3/4-1 cup gluten free flour blend - see note
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder (preferably aluminum free)
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (if desired)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Combine soaked lentils, honey, olive oil, water, and shredded zucchini in a blender.  Blend until very smooth.  
• Add the flour, salt, baking powder, eggs, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.  Pulse just until combined.  
• Pour into desired size pans.  For example: 2 round cake pans (either greased and floured or with parchment paper cut to fit the bottoms), mini loaf pans, muffin pan, standard-sized loaf pan, etc.  
• Bake at 350 degrees just until a toothpick comes out clean in the center.  Do not overbake!  2 cake pans should take around 30-35 minutes.  Muffins, closer to 20 minutes.
• Allow to cool completely.  Then frost with "Fudgy Chocolate Frosting" - see below. 

Notes

Notes: Soaking the lentils will help remove the anti-nutrients that are present in all grains and seeds.  To soak your lentils, place in a large bowl and add enough water to cover them by 2 inches.  If desired, add a splash of raw apple cider vinegar (this will break down the anti-nutrients even more).  In the morning, drain and rinse the lentils and measure the amount you need for the recipe.

Gluten free flour blends can be purchased at the grocery store or you can make your own.  This recipe was made with a storebought brand (Krusteaz) that contains a mixture of sorghum flour, brown rice flour, millet flour.  Feel free to experiment with other types of flours such as coconut or almond flour.  I have not personally used these types, so I'm not sure how it will affect the texture.  If you use a different type, please comment below and let us know how it turned out!!