Description
This zucchini cake is plush, warmly spiced, and topped with a thick brown sugar frosting that melts into the cake as it cools. With toasted pecans folded in and a moist crumb from shredded zucchini, this is the kind of rustic dessert that gets even better the next day.
Ingredients
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
¾ cup granulated sugar
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup neutral oil (like vegetable or canola)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 ½ cups finely shredded zucchini (unpeeled, not drained)
½ cup chopped toasted pecans
For the frosting:
¼ cup unsalted butter
½ cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons milk or cream
1 cup powdered sugar
¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Optional: extra pecans for topping
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease an 8×8-inch pan and line with parchment if desired.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
3. In another bowl, whisk eggs with granulated sugar, brown sugar, oil, and vanilla until smooth.
4. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry until mostly combined.
5. Fold in zucchini and toasted pecans until evenly distributed.
6. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth the top.
7. Bake for 45–50 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs.
8. Let cool in pan 20 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack.
9. Meanwhile, make the frosting: melt butter and brown sugar in a small saucepan until bubbly and smooth.
10. Add milk or cream and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat.
11. Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth.
12. Spread frosting over slightly warm cake and top with more pecans if desired.
13. Let set before slicing.
14. Store covered at room temperature up to 3 days or refrigerate for longer storage.
15. Freeze individual slices wrapped tightly if needed.
Notes
This cake is even better the next day after the frosting seeps in a bit.
Don’t squeeze the zucchini—you want all that moisture in the batter.
Toast the pecans first for deeper flavor and crunch.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 square
- Calories: 375
- Sugar: 31g
- Sodium: 210mg
- Fat: 18g
- Saturated Fat: 5g
- Unsaturated Fat: 11g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 48g
- Fiber: 2g
- Protein: 4g
- Cholesterol: 50mg
Keywords: zucchini cake, brown sugar frosting, moist spice cake