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September 10, 2015

Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

shutterbean + olivari

Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting // shutterbean

Before we said goodbye to summer break, I had a little get-together at my house with our friends who live up the street.  There’s nothing like grilling outside and enjoying each other’s company before the hustle and bustle of back to school season starts.

Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting // shutterbean

After our dinner of grilled hot dogs, tater tots & salad, I served this Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting for dessert. It’s packed with zucchini and none of the kids had any idea until we told them.

zucchinicake 024

This is an incredibly moist cake, thanks to the combination of shredded zucchini and Olivari Olive Oil. It’s not too sweet, which meant that it was the perfect thing to have the night before school started. Also…it was the perfect cake to have for breakfast with a hot cup of coffee. I believe that cream cheese frosting makes mornings, afternoons and evenings better. Don’t you agree?

Let’s gather our ingredients:

Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting // shutterbean

Let’s get our dry ingredients together.

Olivari developed an hands-free app (it narrates the recipe to you!)  with a library of great recipes (including this one) that feature their olive oil. It’s called the Olivari Audio Cookbook. That means you can be hands free while you’re working on the recipe. No more flour gunk on your phone!

Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting // shutterbean

One of the main ingredients (besides zucchini!) is this Olivari Olive Oil.  It has a smooth fruity flavor profile which made it perfect for this cake.

When Olivari sent me their olive oil, I had no idea that each bottle had a pop-up pourer.

I found it pretty cool and super convenient!

Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting // shutterbean

We stir the wet ingredients together. Zucchini goes in with the Greek yogurt.

Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting // shutterbean

Dry meets wet.

Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting // shutterbean

Walnut addition. Omit if you’re a walnut free household.

Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting // shutterbean

Off to the oven!

Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting // shutterbean

Baked!  Now cooling.

Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting // shutterbean

Let’s make the cream cheese frosting. It has cinnamon in it for extra flavor.

Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting // shutterbean

Before:

Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting // shutterbean

After!  With the addition of the confectioner’s sugar and a whip session with the hand mixer.

Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting // shutterbean

Invert the cake. Smooth side up! Frosting goes on.

Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting // shutterbean

Spread evenly.

Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting // shutterbean

Don’t worry about mistakes…that’s what cinnamon dusting is for.

Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting // shutterbean

Here we have it served up!

Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting // shutterbean

And here we are enjoying it!

Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting // shutterbean

Someone enjoyed it a little too much….

My Everyday Life: Week 32 // shutterbean

It  was nice to be able to direct my friends to the recipe on their app when they asked for it. Remember when we had recipe cards? Life is so high-tech now!

(You can download the app here)

Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting // shutterbean

So, there we have it!  Zucchini Cake studded with walnuts and topped with the perfect amount of cinnamon cream cheese frosting.

Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting // shutterbean

It makes for a really nice transition into fall.

shutterbean + olivari

Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

serves 6-8

for the cake:

  • 1  1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 cup Olivari Olive Oil
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 1/4 cup maple syrup
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 zucchini, shredded (about 1 1/4 cups)
  • 1/2 cup Greek yogurt
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

 

for the frosting

  • 1 8oz. package cream cheese, at room temperature
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus more for topping

 

to make the cake:

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter one 8 inch cake pan and set aside.

Whisk together the flours, baking soda, salt and spices in a medium bowl and set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the olive oil and brown sugar, breaking up any lumps. Add the maple syrup and vanilla, whisking until smooth. Add the eggs, one at a time and beat until fully incorporated. With a wooden spoon, stir in the shredded zucchini, followed Greek yogurt. Add the flour mixture to the liquids, stirring until just combined. Fold in the chopped walnuts to the batter;  do not over mix. Pour batter into prepared pan, evening out the top if necessary. Transfer batter to prepared cake pan and bake in the oven for 30- 35 minutes, or until tester comes out clean.

Remove from the oven, and leave the cake to cool in its pan for 10 minutes.

to make the frosting:

Place cream cheese, butter, vanilla in a mixing bowl and beat with a hand mixer until well combined. Slowly add the confectioner’s sugar and cinnamon and continue beating until frosting is well incorporated.

to frost the cake:

Invert the cake onto the serving platter/plate. Spread frosting evenly over the top of the cake, making sure to leave the sides frosting free. Dust the top of the cake with ground cinnamon and serve.

  • Snappystreet

    As we come in to summer here, I may just have to try this delicious recipe!

  • Libby

    Zucchini cake always reminds me of my grandma. She was always so excited about getting us to eat veggies in our deserts. She would also make pumpkin pie with butternut squash, instead, and just thought it was so hilarious that she tricked us into eating one kind of squash instead of another.

    So, yeah, I’m going to make this cake and eat it with a cup of coffee and meditate on my grandma.

    Thanks for the memories.

  • Katie {moms kitchen handbook}

    This is my kind of cake (although I’d probably eat cardboard if it was coated in cream cheees frosting). Love that pop up pour top on the Olivari!

  • Sara

    Oh my goodness goodness gosh. SO MUCH YES.

  • Amy @ Thoroughly Nourished Life

    Oh yes! Cream cheese frosting adds a little sparkle to any part of the day! I love that this cake is made with heart healthy olive oil – and it just adds so much moisture to the cake too! I can’t wait for zucchini season to really kick off so I can gather some friends together for grilling and cake eating 🙂 Thanks Tracy. I hope Cooper had a great first day back at school!

  • Eliza | Pen + Pan

    I would love to adapt this recipe to make a loaf cake for breakfast, but I’m afraid I would faceplant into/gobble up the cake right out of the oven. Time to muster my self-restraint in the face of perfectly moist (no shame for using the word), practically healthy cake.

  • Gaby Dalkin

    Yes, yes, yes. I’m so into this. Can’t promise I won’t stick my finger into the frosting too, though.

  • Jordan Lynn // Life Between Lattes

    I love zucchini in my cake. Vegetables for dessert > fruit for dessert! 🙂

  • Carlie Janelle

    I am currently reading the recipe to bake this cake the third time around… First was for my sister, second for the neighbours, and now a gluten-free version as a birthday cake for a friend. What a delightful recipe ~ it comes out perfectly every time, even for those of us who are sloppy recipe-readers. Thank you!

  • laura bradshaw

    Did you have to peel the zucchini ? Or do you shred it with the peel on?
    THX!

  • Evelyn

    Okay, so this just came out of my oven…and I am (im)patiently waiting for this to cool down so I can ice it and eat it for dinner. I’m not even kidding, and I make no apologies… 😀

  • Emily

    This cake is officially going into my recipe box! I’ve made this recipe more than three times , so it has earned its place.

  • Crista

    I love finding new ways to get my kids to eat their veggies. This cake looks delish. Can’t wait to try it. Thanks for sharing.

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