Apple Walnut Zucchini Cake ~ if you could pack late summer/early fall into a bundt pan and bake it up, this is what you’d get ~ a moist cake loaded with shredded zucchini, crunchy walnuts, and chunks of tart Granny Smith apple. A sweet nutmeg glaze finishes it off.
I don’t know about you but when I start to crave fall and it’s still a month or more away I start to bake in an effort to will it into existence. Kind of like doing a little rain dance to bring on the cooler weather. The downside is that this doesn’t usually work. The upside is you get some pretty nice things to snack on while you wait for the temps to drop, like this apple walnut zucchini cake!
Apples, walnuts, zucchini, some pantry staples and a bundt pan are just about all you need to turn your kitchen into a fall wonderland. You can whip it up in one (big!) bowl, which makes this zucchini cake recipe clean up friendly, too.
Bundt cakes are ideal for brunch or lunch entertaining because they make a pretty presentation and they can serve a crowd.
Tips for apple walnut zucchini cake
- Use a standard sized bundt pan, I used this one from Wilton.
- Prep your pan well. Mine was new, so all I needed was a light spray, but if yours is older, butter it well, and dust with flour.
- If possible, grate your zucchini with the grating blade of your food processor rather than a box grater, because the shreds are bigger, dryer, and show up better in the baked bread.
- Chop your apple into a small dice…I chopped mine a little too big and I didn’t like the random chunks in the cake.
Apple Walnut Zucchini Cake
Ingredients
- 3 large eggs
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil (you can also use a nut oil (I love walnut oil)
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg, more if you love it
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 cups all purpose flour, remember to fluff it first, then scoop, then level for an accurate measurement.
- 4 cups shredded zucchini
- 1 Granny Smith apple, cored and diced (do not peel)
- 1 1/2 cup rough chopped walnuts
glaze
- 2 cups confectioner’s sugar
- milk or cream to thin, several tablespoons
- freshly grated nutmeg
garnish
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F Spray a nonstick bundt pan with cooking spray, or lightly butter and flour the pan, tapping off any excess flour.
- In a very large bowl whisk the eggs, sugar, and oil together. Blend in the spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Fold in the flour, then zucchini, apple, and walnuts. Turn into the bundt pan and smooth out if necessary.
- Bake for 60 minutes, or until golden and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out without wet batter clinging to it (moist crumbs are fine.)
- Let cool 10 minutes, then loosen the cake around all edges with a blunt knife, and invert onto a platter or cooling rack. Let cool completely before glazing.
- To make the glaze, whisk the sugar with enough milk or cream to make a pourable glaze. Start with 3 Tbsp and work up from there. Add freshly grated nutmeg to taste.
- Pour the glaze over the cooled cake and top with a dusting of crushed walnuts.
Soooo unhealthy with 2 cups of sugar! I had to stop it right there…
Remember it’s a large bundt cake, and meant to be a treat! But you might experiment with lowering the sugar, it’s usually safe to reduce by 1/3 in a recipe without affecting things too much.
I am anxious to try this wonderful combination of apple and zucchini. Can you make this in a 9 x 13 pan??
You could, but I think it would make a thin cake, so watch the baking time. I also have a classic zucchini cake that bakes in a 9×13 pan, here, which you might add apples to.
Fairly straightforward recipe. Pretty easy too. My complaint is around the amount of oil and sugar. I wish I had apple sauce on hand! I also over grated my zucchini with the kitchen aid. The bundt cake came out very moist. Overall, lovely bundt cake. Would make again with minimal changes. Thanks for sharing.
This was most excellent. I made a few changes. 1- 1/2 cups sugar, 2/3 cup oil. Added 1/2 cup of my homemade applesauce and instead of cinnamon, I used cinnamon chips. I also roasted my walnuts before chopping.
Can this be made with almond flour?
I haven’t tried that Ricci, I think you’d have to blend in another gf flour with the almond to give it enough structure.
Delicious! A real hit at a pot luck I attended. Thank you!
Sue! You’ve done it again! My kid would never eat zucchini muffins. But I really wanted to give this a try-if anything just to bring the fall season around faster here at our home. Needless to say, this was fast to mix up and it won over my picky kid and husband! I used cream in the glaze as milk, to me, doesn’t give it a creamy taste. Nutmeg in the glaze was a hit too. Thank you for all of your fabulous recipes,
You’re so welcome Genevieve, and I don’t know where you live, but here in Los Angeles Fall always needs to be coaxed along too…
When you say “whisk” do you mean a hand held whisk or the whisk attachment on an electric kitchen aid mixer. Many recipes I see use this term, and I’m not sure how to “whisk”. I can’t wait to make this
Thanks!
Sorry for the confusion, I mean a hand held whisk Jabeve.
Can you use regular loaf pans instead? If so will this do 1 or 2 loaves?
It would definitely be 2 loaves, Kat, just watch the cooking time, I haven’t done it so I can’t tell you for sure how long to bake.
This cake was delicious! I made as is, except I used sprouted wheat flour, only 1 cup of sugar in the batter and I left out the nuts. It was so moist amd delicious. I’m about to make it again, except trying as muffins.
Let us know how the muffins turn out Tammy 🙂