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“It was everything you (and several comments) promised! Iโve passed it on to my sisters, whoโve become your followers, too, just because of this cake (and its frosting)!” ~Nancy

blueberry zucchini cake is a feast for the senses
You might have seen I am Baker’s cake around, it’s a stunner. Amanda’s blueberry zucchini cake is a gorgeous 2 layers, fit for a celebration, but in true tvfgi style, I turned it into a casual blueberry zucchini sheet 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, it’s absolutely delish.
what you’ll need
- eggs
- vegetable oil
- vanilla extract
- granulated and confectioner’s sugar
- shredded zucchini
- all purpose flour
- salt, baking powder, and baking soda
- blueberries
- butter
- fresh lemon juice
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
- Whisk the wet ingredients together in a large mixing bowl, then fold in the shredded zucchini.
- Whisk the dry ingredients together in a small bowl and then fold into the wet ingredients, just enough to combine.
- Fold in the blueberries and bake.
- 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.
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.ย USA makes a whole line of bakewareย and I’m slowly replacing all my pans. Plus, they’re made in the USA!
Blueberry Zucchini Cake with Lemon Buttercream
Video
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
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.
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.ย 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
Made this 3 times already. Love it!! Trying it in a bundt pan today. Hoping it comes out just as good
Whaaat? You know the cake better than I do at this point ๐
My neighbor made this and shared a piece with me (she’s a gem). I loved it so much I ran out and got the ingredients to make it myself. Thanks for the recipe ๐ it’s delicious!!!
Love that Janie!
I…just…made…this! My husband said itโs a โkeeperโ and I readily agreed! Thank you!
Oh good, perfect time for this cake.
It can be made with whole wheat flour as well. Cut back from 3 cups to 2 and 3/4 . My son cannot eat white flour. But can whole wheat.
Thanks Lisa!
Thanks for this recipe Sue- One of our favorites. We are wondering if you or anyone who has made it has used less sugar in the cake with good results? the 2.25 cups is a lot and the cake is too sweet. I will experiment but if this is a chemistry thing, I dont want to waste my time. We are hoping 1.75 cups does the trick. Any feedback is greatly appreciated.
The rule is you can safely cut the sugar by about 1/4-1/3, Bobby, so if I’m doing the math right (and math isn’t my strong suit) I think you could reduce it to 1.75 cups and be ok.
do you know the nutritional values of this recipe? (i need to know the point value for weight watchers)
I made this cake last year and thought it was the best cake I’d ever made. The frosting was incredible! Now that it’s blueberry season again, I’m ready to do it again!
I would like to know if this could be baked in loaf pans also.
I haven’t done that but I’m sure you can, Kathy. Because of the deeper batter, the loaves will take longer to bake.
This exact recipe is listed on All Recipes and baked in four mini loaf pans.
I would love to make this with butter instead of oil. What other changes do I need to make to the recipe?
You can substitute melted and cooled butter for the oil Erica, with no other changes.
I live in North Idaho. I’m making this today with huckleberries! Thanks for sharing!
Brenda you HAVE to come back and tell me how it was, I’m jealous.
I was just going to ask if I could substitute Huckleberries as well when I saw your comment…hehe p.s. I live in the Lewis/Clark Valley ๐
I hope you ladies report back on the huckleberries…