You know I love baking with zucchini, it’s so versatile! I often make bread with it, and everyone loves it. There’s something about zucchini, it’s a veggie, yes, but it lends itself to different flavor profiles beautifully.
In this case, you’ll see zucchini is the star of the show, but it lets other ingredients shine through. That the zucchini magic, it’s so humble and easy to work with!
Here’s why you should make this cake
There are many excuses to make this fluffy and incredibly moist cake.
- It’s tasty, but healthy too. One cup of zucchini gives you 40% of the vitamin A you need in a day. Vitamin A is good for your sight and strengthens your immune system.
- It’s a grown-up cake, not too sweet, but sweet enough for a birthday party. I bet that if you tell your guests this cake has two cups of zucchini, they won’t even notice.
- It’s the best way to get the kids to eat more greens, especially if they smell the enticing aromas coming out of the oven while you bake it.
Don’t underestimate the frosting!
Before we talk more about zucchini, I want to give special recognition to this cake’s frosting.
The cream cheese frosting is one of those toppings that can make anything better; you can use it on cupcakes, other cakes, or as a filling for lots of baking treats, and it only four ingredients.
I really recommend you learn the frosting recipe by heart and have it as an ace up your sleeve. Whenever I’m in a rush or running out of ideas, I give my cream cheese frosting a chance, and it always delivers. Now, back to the cake.
What you’ll need
To make this lovely cake, you’ll need three medium-sized bowls, a wire whisk, a manual grater for the zucchini (although, you can also use a food processor and save some time), a rubber spatula, and a greased pan.
Now, for the ingredients, I’d like to mention that this cake is entirely inspired by Autumn.
I recommend not forgetting to add the raisins, coconut, walnuts, cinnamon, and nutmeg — together, they create an unmistakable flavor and aroma that reminds us of falling leaves and dinners with the family; they taste like the holiday season.
I hope by now you’re as excited about baking with zucchini as I am, so let’s get started with this recipe!
PrintZucchini Cake
Ingredients
2 cups shredded zucchini
2 eggs
1/2 cup oil
3/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla
1–1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup coconut
1/2 cup walnuts (coarsely chopped)
Cream-cheese frosting
8 oz Philadelphia cream cheese
1 stick (4oz) butter
2 cups of powder sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Combine eggs, oil, honey, and vanilla.
- In another bowl, combine flour, soda, salt, baking powder, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Using a wire whisk mix well and then add to the liquid ingredients.
- Stir until smooth, then add zucchini, raisins, coconut, and walnuts. Mix using a rubber spatula and bake in greased (13×9) pan for 30-35 minutes.
- Cool completely
- Spread with cream cheese frosting.
- For the frosting mix butter and cream cheese until smooth, add vanilla and then gradually add powder sugar and mix until blended.