Blueberry Zucchini Snack Cake with Lemon Buttercream

Blueberry Zucchini Snack Cake with Lemon Buttercream is an easy snack cake combines the best of summer into one delicious treat, but since blueberries, zucchini, and lemons are available all year round, you never have to go without this yummy cake!

blueberry zucchini cake is a feast for the senses

When it comes right down to it, we food bloggers are just as susceptible to gorgeous Pinterest photos as anybody, maybe more. Lots of my food cravings start out as random pins that float innocently across my screen. You might have seen I am Baker’s cake around, it’s a stunner. I keep a little queue of recipes that I want to make and this one kept inching its way up to the top until finally I couldn’t resist.

snack cakes are perfect for summer’s laid back style

Amanda’s cake is a gorgeous 2 layers, fit for a celebration, but in true tvfgi style, I turned it into a casual snack cake. No less scrumptious, just a little more user friendly. Eat it with your hands, in your lap, off a paper napkin, whateves, but definitely try it.

best pan for a blueberry zucchini cake

Instead of using round cake pans, I baked the batter in my 9×13 USA pan, I love it, it’s got a wonderful heft to it, and cooks nice and evenly. I don’t like to bake in glass if I can avoid it because it tends to cook hot, and the edges can get overdone. I used this pan to bake my favorite Pecan Praline Pumpkin Cake and my Brown Sugar Peach Cake, too, and I’m always thrilled with the results.

BAKING TIP:  Converting a layer cake to a 9×13 pan is easy — since the depth of the batter will be comparable, there are no changes necessary except to watch the baking time carefully. It will probably take a little longer in the 9×13 pan, so check with a toothpick to be sure.

how to make a blueberry zucchini cake

1. Whisk the wet ingredients together in a large mixing bowl, then fold in the shredded zucchini.
2. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a small bowl and then fold into the wet ingredients, just enough to combine.
3. Fold in the blueberries and bake.
4. The batter is luxurious and silky — and since it uses oil in place of butter it’s super easy to throw together. I made sure to rearrange my blueberries after filling the pan so they would be evenly distributed throughout the cake.

the lemon buttercream is the icing on the cake!

This blueberry zucchini cake is moist, dense, and delicious, but I think it’s the lemon buttercream that has my taste buds doing a jig. I love it, so I made sure to lay it on nice and thick.

BAKING TIP: I blended the lemon buttercream up in my food processor (fitted with the metal blade) rather than using my electric hand beaters like I usually do, and I loved the result. It was easier, less messy, and the frosting came out super smooth and creamy. It’s my go to method from now on.

tvfgi recommends: USA Baking Pans

I love my USA 9×13 pan, it’s sturdy, nonstick, and has a great solid feel to it. USA pans have no bells and whistles, they’re just good quality, durable cookware. My cakes cook up more evenly in this aluminized steel, with no overcooked edges like I sometimes get with glass. USA makes a whole line of bakeware and I’m slowly replacing all my pans. Plus, they’re made in the USA!

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3.45 from 1176 votes

Blueberry Zucchini Snack Cake with Lemon Buttercream

Blueberry Zucchini Snack Cake with Lemon Buttercream ~ this easy snack cake combines the best of summer with juicy blueberries and shredded zucchini.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 50 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Yield 16 servings

Calories 462kcal

Author Sue Moran

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Ingredients

• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 2 cups shredded zucchini
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 pint blueberries, tossed in 1 tsp flour

lemon buttercream

• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
• fresh lemon juice

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

• Set oven to 350F
• Lightly grease and flour a 9×13 baking pan.
• Beat the eggs, oil, vanilla and sugar until well blended. Fold in the zucchini.
• Whisk the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda to combine. Slowly add it to the wet mixture, mixing just enough to blend.
• Fold in the blueberries, and pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for about 50 minutes, just until the top is turning golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out without wet batter clinging to it. Cool on a rack.
• To make the frosting, put the softened butter into the bowl of a food processor and process until creamy. Add the sifted powdered sugar, one cup at a time, processing till smooth after each addition. After the second cup of sugar add in the lemon juice. Scrape down the sides of the machine as necessary. Adjust the texture by adding a little more lemon or a little more sugar.
• Frost the cooled cake and store in the refrigerator.

Video

Cook’s notes

• Reader Lillia reports in the comments below that this cake can easily be made gluten free using King Arthur’s Measure for Measure Gluten Free Flour.
• I felt that this blueberry zucchini snack cake was at its best chilled, so I kept ours in the refrigerator.  The frosting is butter-rich, so especially in warm weather this makes sense, and the texture of the chilled frosting is out of this world.
• For all your chocoholics out there, you really need to check out my Cold Chocolate Snacking Cake ~ it’s meant to be eaten straight from the fridge, and I guarantee you won’t be able to control yourself around it

 

Recipe slightly adapted from I am Baker

 

Nutrition

Calories: 462kcal | Carbohydrates: 81g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 11g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 177mg | Potassium: 127mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 61g | Vitamin A: 92IU | Vitamin C: 6mg | Calcium: 24mg | Iron: 1mg

The nutritional information for recipes on this site is provided as a courtesy and although theviewfromgreatisland.com tries to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures are only estimates.