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“It was everything you (and several comments) promised! I’ve passed it on to my sisters, who’ve 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. USA makes a whole line of bakeware 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. 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
Nutrition
My grandsons love this cake. This is the 5th time I have made the cake, this summer.
I also made it fir my birthday and my friends thought it was the BEST CAKE THEY HAD EVER EATEN!
This cake is delicious! I found it too moist (if that’s really a thing!), so maybe my zucchini should’ve been drained. I found it to taste like blueberry muffins and didn’t think it needed the icing. I put lemon zest in the cake which ended up being perfect since I didn’t ice it.
Can this recipe be made as a sheet cake in 15 x 10 x1 cake pan??
I haven’t tried that Brenda, it would work but you might have extra batter, which you could make into cupcakes.
I always have frozen blueberries and zuchinni in my freezer….can I use those in this recipe? Will it be too wet?
Yes, for sure!
My whole family loves this recipe. I usually bake the cake as cupcakes–we love the portability of cupcakes and the ratio of lemon icing to cake is perfect in that format. It is my family’s most requested recipe. Thank you for sharing it!
We absolutely love this recipe. Do you know if it could be made vegan? I have a friend who is vegan not by choice and I know she would love this recipe!
I haven’t tried that Jenette, but maybe a reader will weigh in.
This cake is raved about every time I bring it to a gathering or work! It’s my new summer go to recipe. I have used almond extract and it tastes marvelous as well. I have also added the zest of 1/2 lemon to the batter. For a larger party I was able use the same recipe to get 24 cupcakes (baked for 25 minutes at 350°).
I think you can substitute something called ‘vegan butter’ for the butter in the buttercream in the recipe. I have no idea what vegan butter is…not vegan by choice! but people have dietary restrictions and other people blog about ideas to help…https://lovingitvegan.com/vegan-buttercream-frosting/#recipe Hope this is helpful.
Delicious and so moist. I added some lemon zest to the frosting. So yummy. Next time I’m going to add some lemon zest to the cake batter too.
This cake is delicious. Instead of making the frosting myself, I opted for a can of ready made butter cream frosting. I added a few teaspoons of fresh squeezed lemon juice to the frosting and I dripped on lemon justice over the cooled cake before I frosted. It was a big hit..
I adored how easy this cake was to make. I initially made it for a friend since I was trying to use up all of my Garden Zucchini, but certainly added this to my “keeper” recipe list! How long does this snack cake usually last when refrigerated?
Glad it was a hit, and I’d give it at least 4 days or so.