This zucchini cake is moist, delicious, and perfectly spiced. It’s topped with a yummy cream cheese frosting. It will be your new favorite way to eat your vegetables.
The zucchini in this cake makes it extra moist in every single bite. It’s perfectly seasoned with lots of cinnamon, and vanilla extract, and topped with the best cream cheese frosting.
Every spring I love planting some zucchini to grow up in my garden in the late summer. It grows easily, and I enjoy eating zucchini in so many different ways, fried, breaded, baked, sauteed, and of course in baked goods, like this easy zucchini cake. You can bake zucchini up in this chocolate zucchini bread, these zucchini muffins, and even cookies. This zucchini cake is a great one to add to the mix, and the perfect thing to make when you have too much zucchini.
What’s better than a delicious, moist cinnamon spiced cake, with specks of lovely green zucchini throughout. This cake is topped with our favorite cream cheese frosting. It’s the perfect final piece to this amazing cake.
Most of the ingredients in this zucchini cake are the same as zucchini bread. I added a little more cinnamon, and vanilla for pizazz. It also has another egg, and more baking soda to make the cake more light and fluffy.
How to make zucchini cake from scratch?
This cake is super easy to make. Stir your brown sugar, granulated sugar and vegetable oil together in a large bowl. Add in the eggs, and vanilla extract and stir it together. In another bowl whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and ground cinnamon. Gently fold the flour mixture into the wet ingredients, and stir them together until they’re just combined.
Last you’ll want to fold in your shredded zucchini, and chopped walnuts. Fold them in carefully as you don’t want to over mix the batter. It’s okay if it’s a little lumpy.
Scoop the batter into a prepared pan, and let your cake bake up in a preheated oven. Now sit back and relax as the glorious aroma of baked cake fills your kitchen. Until the top of your cake is golden brown, and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
Mix together the ingredients for your cream cheese frosting, whip it up until it’s nice and fluffy. Spread the creamy frosting over the top of the cake once it is cooled.
Tips for making zucchini cake?
- Drain the extra liquid off your zucchini by placing the zucchini in a strainer and pressing out some of the excess moisture.
- Instead of 1 cup of oil, you can also substitute half of the oil for applesauce or crushed pineapple to make the cake a little lighter. You can also use butter instead, though the cake may be a teeny bit drier.
- I chose to add chopped walnuts to my zucchini cake, they add a nice crunch to the cake, but you can leave them out if you prefer. You could also use pecans, golden raisins, shredded coconut, or chocolate chips. You can add up to 1 cup total.
Frequently Asked Questions:
Should I peel my zucchini for zucchini cake?
You don’t need to remove the peel of your fresh zucchini for zucchini cake. But you do want to rinse and clean the zucchini first. The zucchini pieces will all be very small and soft baked up in your cake, you won’t notice the peel at all.
I recommend using smaller zucchini if you can because it wiIl have less seeds and less moisture. If your zucchini is extra large and seedy however, I would slice it in half and remove the seeds from the middle.
How to store Zucchini Cake?
Cover any leftover cake in the pan with plastic wrap or a lid for the cake pan, or transfer a small amount into an airtight container, and place it in the fridge for up to 4 days. Because the zucchini cake recipe has a homemade cream cheese frosting it needs to be refrigerated. If you leave the frosting off then the cake can be stored at room temperature.
Is Zucchini Cake Healthy?
I wouldn’t call zucchini cake healthy because it has a lot of sugars in the cake and frosting. But it is the best way to sneak some veggies into a delicious dessert – and no one, especially your kids will know about it!
This amazing zucchini cake is the perfect summer cake. It’s a great way to sneak some vegetables into your dessert. It’s moist, sweet, and so delicious with a hint of cinnamon in every bite. Topped with the best cream cheese frosting, it’s sure to be a winner with everyone you share it with!
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Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Zucchini Cake
- 1 cup oil
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs (room temperature)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 cups shredded zucchini (drained)
- 1 cup chopped pecans
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 oz cream cheese (room temperature)
- 4 TBS butter (softened)
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1.5 cups powdered sugar
Equipment
- Large Mixing Bowl
Instructions
Zucchini Cake
- Shred zucchini and set into a strainer, and squeeze out some of the extra liquid.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Spray a 9x13 pan with nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, stir together oil, brown sugar and white sugar.
- Mix in the eggs and stir till just combined.
- In another medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and powder, salt, and cinnamon.
- Gently fold the dry ingredients into wet ingredients until all mixed.
- Fold in the zucchini and pecans.
- Pour into the prepared 9x13 pan
- Bake for 25-35 minutes until toothpick insert comes out clean or edges are pulling away from sides.
- Cool completely on baking rack before frosting.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- In a medium bowl, using an electric mixer beat cream cheese until smooth and creamy.
- Add in the butter and stir until smooth.
- On low speed beat in the powder sugar and vanilla extract until all smooth.
- Continue mixing till light and fluffy.
- Frost the cooled cake with the frosting, and top with pecans if desired.
topped with a yummy cream cheese frosting. It will be your new favorite way to eat your vegetables.”>
topped with a yummy cream cheese frosting. It will be your new favorite way to eat your vegetables.”>
Martine Piraino says
Hello, can I turn this cake into muffins instead?
Aimee says
I haven’t tried it as cupcakes/muffins, but it should work. Adjust the baking time accordingly, and let me know if you try it!
Elie Mironidou says
Hi, I would like to ask if I could omit the eggs
Thanks.
Aimee says
You could try with an egg substitute but you will need the liquid and leavening the eggs add