Spiced Zucchini Cake
This recipe is quite simply a love letter to not just my favorite cake (or quick bread), but a favorite recipe of said favorite cake.
The Silver Palate cookbooks were mainstays in my house growing up and seminal works in the kitchen adventures of both my mom and I. My mom’s copies are battle worn, with broken spines and loose pages, showing just how trusted and beloved they were (and are) to us. My family doesn’t really have any “family recipes” in the traditional sense. There aren’t recipes that have passed down from generation to generation. But what we do have are a select few recipes from The Silver Palate that are more meaningful to me than whatever I could possibly write in just a few sentences. The Silver Palate zucchini bread is one of those recipes. And because of this high standing in my ranks of favorite recipes, I never thought I would develop a zucchini bread or cake recipe. This one was perfect, what could I possibly add?
But here we are, with me sharing a zucchini cake recipe with you. How did we get here exactly? To be honest, I’m not 100% sure. But I do know that one day I wondered why zucchini bread couldn’t be glammed up and referred to as a cake and topped with cream cheese frosting. Why does carrot cake get all the glory? (Truly no offense carrot cake, I love you always)
I knew that this meant I would have to turn to my beloved The Silver Palate zucchini bread recipe to embark on this journey. But attempting to improve upon this recipe felt incredibly unnecessary, and honestly quite presumptive, so I decided my goal shouldn’t be to improve but to adapt it into a version that just felt a little more like me. So, I adjusted some ratios, swapped out an ingredient here, added a few in there, and ended up with something that feels a bit more aligned with how I like to bake. Olive oil! More zucchini! Way more spices!
The cake is then topped with a fluffy, tangy, just sweet enough cream cheese frosting. Once again, rather than sticking with a classic cream cheese frosting, which can often feel too sweet and too heavy for my taste, I went with a modified Swiss meringue buttercream with cream cheese. Which, admittedly, is a bit more complex than just mixing some cream cheese, butter, and powdered sugar and calling it a day. But I promise you, the end result is so worth it. Just trust me, please.
As a final note, much like the original recipe, this cake can be baked in a loaf pan and served as a zucchini bread, with or without the frosting.
Makes 1 x 9” round cake
Active time: 30 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 45 minutes
Ingredients
Cake
2 ¼ cup (304g) all purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
pinch of grated nutmeg (optional)
¾ cup (160g) olive oil
1 ¼ cup (263g) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 lb (1 large or 2 small) zucchini, grated
Frosting
2 large egg whites
½ cup (105g) granulated sugar
1 stick (113g) unsalted butter, room temperature
8oz (1 package) cream cheese, room temperature
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Method
To make the cake, preheat oven to 350F. Lightly spray a 9in cake pan (see note) and line to bottom with parchment paper.
In a medium bowl, whisk 2 ¼ cup (304g) all purpose flour, 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ½ teaspoon ginger, ½ teaspoon cardamom, ¼ teaspoon cloves, and pinch of grated nutmeg (optional). Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk ¾ cup (160g) olive oil and 1 ¼ cup (263g) granulated sugar.
Add in the eggs, one at a time, and whisk somewhat vigorously until the mixture has thickened, is a bit fluffy, and is lighter in color. This will take about 30 seconds.
Add in 1 teaspoon vanilla and mix.
Switch to a spatula and mix in the 1 lb grated zucchini. No need to squeeze the liquid of the zucchini, just toss it in as is! We want all of that moisture going into the cake.
Gently mix in the reserved dry ingredients just until there are no more lumps or dry spots.
Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 1 hour – 1 hour 15 minutes. The cake should slowly bounce back when gently pressed, the edge of the cake should be released from the side of the pan, and a cake tester should come out clean when inserted in the middle.
Allow cake to cool most of the way in the pan. It’s okay if there’s still a bit of warmth to it when you remove it from the pan. But to remove, slide a mini offset spatula or butter knife gently between the inside of the cake pan and the edge of the cake, just to make sure it’s not stuck in any spots. Quickly, but gently, flip the cake pan over and allow the bottom of the cake to release. Lift up the pan, remove the parchment, and flip the cake back over. Allow to cool completely before frosting.
To make the frosting, fill a small or medium saucepan with an inch of water and place over low heat. Check that the bowl of your mixer can easily sit atop the pan without the bottom touching the water. We are creating a makeshift double boiler so we can gently heat our meringue base. As egg whites will cook when in contact with direct heat, we will use the steam from the water in the pan to indirectly warm them up.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, add 2 egg white and ½ cup (105g) granulated sugar. It is very important to make sure your mixing bowl is well cleaned and dried, as the base of this frosting is a Swiss meringue, and remnants of oil and water are the enemy of meringues. Set the bowl on top of the pot of simmering water and whisk until the mixture reaches 165F. If you don’t have a thermometer, you can stick a clean finger into the mixture to 1) make sure the sugar granules have dissolved and 2) feel that it is quite warm and uncomfortable to keep your finger in for more than a few seconds.
Remove from the heat and beat with the whisk attachment on medium speed for several minutes until you reach medium-stiff peaks (see note) and the sides of the bowl are just slightly warm or lukewarm.
Add 1 stick (113g) softened butter and mix until fully incorporated and fluffy.
Add 8oz softened cream cheese, and again, mix until everything comes together.
Add ½ teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon vanilla, mix to combine.
To frost, gently spread the frosting over just the top of the cake with a mini offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Make sure to give yourself a bit of a buffer around the edge so the frosting does not fall down the sides, as it is quite soft. Use your spatula or spoon to make abstract swoops and ripples. This is not a time to fret over perfect, smooth frosting technique. No matter what it’s going to look like a lovely, fluffy cloud sitting atop your cake!
Cake can be served immediately or chilled and served directly from the fridge (my personal preference). Due to the cream cheese frosting, leftover cake must be stored in the fridge and will last 3-4 days. Make sure to properly cover the cake once it has been cut into and is being stored in the fridge, as that will help it from drying out and prolong its shelf life.
Notes
If you do not have a 9in round cake pan, the cake can also be baked in a 10in pan or a similarly sized square cake pan. The cake may bake a bit faster in a larger pan, so just check it at the 45 minute mark to gage the progress. Look for the queues listed above for reference. If you only have an 8in cake pan, you may end up with a little extra batter, as you only want to fill the pan up ¾ full. Alternatively, the cake can also be baked in a loaf pan for a more traditional zucchini bread look.
There is no need to worry about having exactly 1 lb of grated zucchini, with no more and no less! If you grate 1 large zucchini and it gives you just under a pound (say ¾ lb) there is no need to grate 4oz of a second zucchini just to hit that mark. And if you grate 2 small ones and end up with 1 ¼ lbs, that’s fine too! No need to waste any zucchini here!
The base for this cream cheese frosting is a Swiss meringue, which is a type of cooked meringue. Because the egg whites and sugar are heated to 165F, the meringue is food safe and does not need any additional cooking method to make it safe to eat. Additionally, allowing the sugar crystals to dissolve into the warmed egg whites will create a stable meringue that can handle fat (such as butter and cream cheese) being added to it. This recipe is essentially a modified Swiss meringue buttercream, meaning a portion of the butter is substituted with cream cheese. Meringue based buttercreams are often favored by bakers because they offer a bit more control over the level of sweetness and provide the most luxurious, smooth, fluffy texture.
There are a couple ways to check for medium to stiff peaks in a meringue. First, when you are looking at it while mixing, or just sitting in the bowl, it should bright white, fluffy, and a bit shiny. The ripples that are created by the whisk should hold their shape and not settle back into the bowl. Second, with the mixer stopped, remove the whisk attachment, dunk it into the meringue, lift it up, and turn it over. If the meringue keeps its shape, with just a slight sag, then it’s perfect and ready to move on to the next step. If it immediately starts to slide back down the tines of the whisk, it’s not quite ready and needs a bit more mixing.