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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
I love this cake! But because of how thick the frosting (and cake) are in a 9 x 13, I use a half sheet cake pan! Turns out with a very nice cake-to-frosting ratioโฆ as long as I donโt eat too much frosting ahead of time! ๐
How much lemon juice do you use ?
Start with a tablespoon and go from there. Use as much as needed for a smooth spreadable frosting.
I love this cake. Iโd like to make it more low carb. How do you think almond flour will work in this recipe? Should I completely swap out the regular flour, or use a combination of regular all-purpose flour with almond?
Thank you!
You can use mostly almond flour, but if you can tolerate some wheat flour that will help bring structure to the cake.
Excellent โ so, like 2 cups almond and 1 cup all purpose? I am trying to get a solid idea of how to proceed. โ thanks so much for your guidance!
That sounds right. It’s always going to be a little bit of trial and error when you adjust recipes like this!
Thanks very muchโฆ.I hate to do it, but it canโt be helped!
The modifications for lower carb worked perfectlyโ-rave reviews! Lakanto monk fruit and Erythritol powdered sugar had all the sweetness without the carbs. And, using almond flour for 2/3 of the flour made the cake a bit denser, but very tasty…again lowering the carbs. Thanks for this recipe and your help!
Thanks for coming back to let us know, Bob!
How much Munk fruit did you use ?
Love this cake!?? I have frozen zucchini and it was squeezed before freezing, but of course itโs wet from thawing. The last cake I made was a bit dry, so I thought maybe I squeezed the zucchini too much. How dry does it need to be? Thanks. My husband LOVES this cake.
Hi Kathy ~ glad you love this cake! I don’t squeeze my freshly grated zucchini, so if you’ve got wet frozen zucchini, try to squeeze it just enough to approximate the fresh grated, if that makes sense. You do want some moisture left in, but you don’t want it dripping wet.
Thank you Iโll let you know shortly. lol?
Could the cake be made ahead and frozen for a couple weeks? Then thaw and frost?
yes, that should work fine!
Really great recipe. I didn’t measure the zucchini and probably added too much because the cake smelled like zucchini. The lemon frosting is killer though. Couldn’t see anywhere in the recipe how much lemon juice to use. Used just under 1 lemon’s worth of juice. Will definitely make again.
How much lemon juice do you use in the frosting? It doesnโt say. thanks
Oh my goodness. I only recently discovered your recipes and now I worry I might have to stop making them. This snack cake is so delicious we cannot stop eating it!!!! My husband says it is his second-favorite cake (second only to German chocolate cake) and he is usually not a huge lover of sweets. Well done and thank you for another wonderful, easy recipe! (I followed Lois B Demerich’s guidance and cut the sugar in the cake by 1/4 cup, and that was perfect for us because we tend to prefer our desserts less sweet. I also cut the amount of frosting by 1/4 and that made enough to cover the whole cake with a thin layer.) Decadent!
Thanks Kristen, I’ll have to work on a German chocolate cake for your husband ๐
Absolutely delicious moist cake. A summer favorite. I do cut back on the sugar in the cake just slightly and reduce the amount of icing on the cake as a personal preference. After sharing a recent bit of cake with a neighbor, she commented it was one of the best cakes she ever had! After 85 years of living that is quite a compliment. This cake will change the food selection opinion of any zucchini hater!
You are my favorite food blogger and chef, just to get that out of the way. This cake is amazing! The buttercream is the “icing on the cake,” and you would laugh when my little grand daughters said, “YiaYia, we don’t like Yuccini!” So I just nodded and said, “Would you like to taste this cake with blueberries that I made for PeePaw?” Bite after bite they yummied until the entire piece was devoured. Then my daughter said, “ask YiaYia what is in that cake besides the blueberries.” I said, “ZUCCHINI!!” Well. Enough said. They are believers now!
Your recipes are always wonderful. hank you for sharing them with us!
So glad everybody loved it, thanks!