Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Looking for a way to use up extra zucchini? Bake it into a cake! This Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting is a favorite dessert in our house every summer!
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A couple of months ago, we rented a U-Haul trailer and brought back a bunch of furniture from my mom’s house. She was downsizing, and we had the space to use the extra furniture…so off we went! Along with that furniture, we finally brought back all of my childhood stuff. Yearbooks, a Garfield alarm clock, pictures, comic books and baseball cards. It all went into the back of that U-Haul.
Among the pictures was a framed “Life’s Little Lessons” poster that I had hanging in my room when I was younger. The poster is full of tidbits of wisdom like “Never wash a car, pick out a Christmas tree or mow the lawn after dark.” Truth. “Never celebrate a birthday without a birthday cake.” Truth. “Plant zucchini only if you have a lot of friends.” 110% truth!
As anyone who has grown zucchini can attest, it grows like wildfire! It’s one of those “uh oh – we need to figure out how to use a whole bunch of zucchini ASAP” kinda things. This rustic zucchini soup is a favorite of ours (ignore the photos – they were from the early days of the blog. Hah!)
Zucchini is also great for baking – cakes, muffins, etc. The moisture in the zucchini leads to a great texture in baked goods, and then you can add whatever flavors you like. That brings us to this Zucchini Cake recipe. Holy cow – this one is amazing! It’s absolutely “company worthy.” The only challenge will be not eating it before the company arrives!
Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
The cake base for this Zucchini Cake is moist, flavorful and easy to make. I opted to bake this one in a 9″x13″ baking dish and then cut the cake into squares. Robbie grabbed one of the squares as he ran through the kitchen after school. He stopped dead in his tracks and told me, “Dad, this cake is really good. Like really good.” Hey, he speaks the truth!
This Zucchini Cake relies on vegetable oil instead of butter as the fat. The rest of the ingredients are standard – sugar (I like to substitute in a little bit of brown sugar for depth of flavor), eggs, flour and spices. Oh and 2 cups of grated zucchini. That will be ~2 medium zukes, just for reference. When it comes to grating those zucchini, I used the coarsest grating surface of this box grater. The grater has 3 different grating sizes along with a slicer, and I reach for it almost every day! (I use the same grater for cheese, too.)
When it comes to seasonings for this cake, I went with cinnamon and nutmeg. The flavor (and smell) was amazing! I also opted for a cream cheese frosting on top. I have a pumpkin bread recipe that uses this same cream cheese frosting. Both breads are moist so I figured the cream cheese option would work well here – spoiler alert: it works really well!
I included a bit of cardamom in the frosting, and I highly recommend it! Add in the chopped walnuts for flavor and texture, and you’ve got a cream cheese frosting that will rival that from any bakery. In this case, it went on the zucchini cake – and it was delicious!
Don’t skip the toasted, chopped walnuts on top! They add a nice nutty flavor, and the crunch is especially nice. (If you aren’t a fan of walnuts, you could use unsalted pecans instead.) If you want to add a bit of chocolate, then toss a handful of chocolate chips in, too!
If you find yourself with extra zukes (or just want a fantastic, company-worthy summer dessert idea), then put this cake on the list! I promise it will be a big hit – happy baking!
Did you bake this Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting at home? Leave a comment, or snap a photo and tag me on Instagram (@Spicedblog) – I’d love to see your version!
Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 2 cups grated zucchini
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 4 large eggs
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
For the Frosting
- 6 oz. cream cheese room temperature
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter room temperature
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups confectioner’s sugar
- 1 cup toasted walnuts chopped
Instructions
For the Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Grease and flour a 9”x13” baking pan or spray generously with cooking spray; set pan aside.
- Using a large mixing bowl, add grated zucchini, granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil and eggs; stir until well combined.
- Using a separate bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, baking powder and baking soda. Gradually fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, stirring after each addition.
- Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out mostly clean. Let cake cool completely before frosting.
For the Frosting
- Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter together until well combined.
- Add brown sugar, cardamom, cinnamon and vanilla; mix until well combined.
- Add confectioner’s sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing after each addition until well combined.
- Spread frosting on top of the cooled cake. Sprinkle toasted, chopped walnuts on top.
Looking for more zucchini recipes? Check out these other favorites, too:
Cant wait to make this soon for me for the frosting can i use vegan cream cheese and butter i love zucchini sooooooooooooo much i never had zucchini cake with cream cheese frosting before perfect for my after office snacks love your recipes as always brightens up my day everyday after work
If you love zucchini, then this is a fun way to use up any extras you might have laying around! I think a vegan cream cheese + butter would be just fine for the frosting. Definitely make this cake, Ramya – it’s delicious!!
Looks yummy, David! I especially like the bit of cardamon, it has such a special flavor.
Zucchini are so versatile. You can use them for every course, including dessert as this post shows!
And it’s a good thing, too. As someone who has grown zucchini I can certainly relate to that saying. The first time I grew zucchini I made the mistake of buying four plants. By midsummer I was awash in zucchini and was bringing bushels full to the office … !
That little hint of cardamom has become one of my “secret” tricks for baking lately – it adds just enough to be like “what’s the extra flavor in here?” without overwhelming the recipe. And I totally hear you on zucchini. We used to do 2 plants each summer, and that would keep us steadily supplied with zukes. Maybe we’ll plant some again next year – although I’m fearful that the bears here in the mountains might take an interest to our garden if I do that. Either way – thanks!
Now THIS is my kinda delicious! I’m thinking I might have to grab a uhaul and head over to you – I’ll fill it up with THIS cake and any leftover zucchini you may have… funny story, I planted a zucchini plant but it didn’t grow this year …le sigh!
BTW – I couldn’t agree more with those sayings on your childhood poster – especially “Never celebrate a birthday without a birthday cake.”!
Wait! Your zucchini plant didn’t grow!? You must have gotten a bum plant. Those things have always taken off like weeds for us. Try again next year for sure. 🙂 And then come back and make this cake. It’s seriously a favorite here!
Well I do happen to have a glut of zukes right now. Love the icing!
Perfect timing, Mimi! You could make that zucchini cheesy rice for a meal and follow it up with this zucchini cake for dessert. Both recipes were huge hits here! 🙂
I love a cream cheese icing and a hint of cardamom is always a winner in a sweet recipe. My cousin is vehemently anti-veg in a cake but i think it’s fine!
This cream cheese frosting is my go-to version – it’s fantastic! Definitely put this cake on your baking plans, Sherry. It was a HUGE favorite here in our house. And maybe just don’t tell your cousin that there are zukes hiding in there. 🙂
Gorgeous cake David! I love cakes that use oil instead of butter. I can tell from these beautiful pictures how moist and delicious this zucchini cake is. 😋. And I love your addition of cardamom in the frosting! This cake has got to be the best way to use zucchini!
Oh this cake – it truly is delicious, Shannon! It’s a sneaky and tasty way to use up extra summer zukes, too!
Zucchini is so versatile and I love how it adds moisture to baked goods without making them vegetabl-y (can we make that a word? 😉 ) Love the warm spices in this frosting too!
Yes, I think we can make vegetably a word. 🙂 This cake is absolutely amazing, and it’s great for summer desserts!
I can never figure out what to make with extra zucchini — but this cake looks divine! Love the addition of cardamom to it too!
I hear ya on the extra zucchini – we always seem to have a bunch around this time of the year. It’s cool how zukes can be used for both sweet and savory recipes, though! This cake is absolutely amazing – perfect for summer desserts!!
Oh my goodness, this Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting sounds like a delightful summer treat! I can see why it’s a favorite dessert in your house every summer – it’s such a creative and delicious way to use up extra zucchini from the garden.
Zucchini is such a cool ingredient as it can be eaten in so many different ways. This dessert version is absolutely fantastic! Perfect for when you’re craving a sweet summer treat. Thanks, Raymund!