Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

When life gives you lemons, you’re supposed to make lemonade or lemon bars if you want to bake. Well, when your garden starts giving you more zucchini than you know what to do with, make a plan to make this classic zucchini cake with cream cheese frosting.

Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

This recipe for zucchini cake is so delicious and a sweet way to enjoy your garden’s bounty. Each cake includes two regular-sized zucchinis so it’s a great way to get extra veggies in your diet, too. You can serve it as a traditional spice cake or cut them into bars like you might lemon bars.

Have more zucchini than you need for making cake? Well, you can freeze zucchini or you can use it in other recipes. Some suggestions:

• Zucchini Nut Bread with Pecans
• Zoodles or Zucchini Noodles, a great low-carb pasta alternative
• Low Carb Zucchini Fries

Ingredients

The ingredients pictured here are for both the zucchini cake as well as the homemade cream cheese frosting. However, I’ve broken out those ingredients into separate lists to make it easier for you to use mise en place for your ingredients and make this recipe.

Zucchini Cake

• 1 1/3 cups brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 cups shredded zucchini drained, equivalent to two zucchini

Frosting

• 1/2 cup butter softened
• 8 ounces cream cheese softened
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups powdered sugar

Directions

Just like with the ingredients, you’ll find two sets of instructions here. The first is the process for making the actual zucchini cake. The second is how to make the homemade cream cheese frosting.

Making the Cake

• Heat oven to 350 F.
• Spray an 8-inch square pan with non-stick spray or line with parchment paper.
• In a large bowl using an eclectic mixer combine the brown sugar, butter, vanilla and egg.
• Next stir in the flour, baking soda and cinnamon.
• Stir in the zucchini.
• Spread the batter into the pan.
• Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
• Cool completely.

Making the Frosting

• In a mixing bowl using an electric mixer combine the butter, cream cheese and vanilla extract until combined.
• Next whip in the powdered sugar.
• Spread over the bars.
• Slice and serve!

Notes

If you don’t have the time or the inclination to make the cream cheese frosting from scratch, you can always use a store-bought version.

You can add any nuts you like, just as I did with the recipe for Zucchini Nut Bread with Pecans. However, I think that walnuts are especially delicious in this cake.