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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
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.
Video
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
Sue, could I use wild frozen blueberries? I am not a fan of how large they are growing blueberries now. Also, how many zucchini for 2cups? Thanks
Yes, I love wild blueberries too! Zucchini is hard to quantify, buy at least 2 regular sized zucchini.
Please let me know if anyone made this with G-F flour and what brand did they use? Thanks, hoping to be able to make this soon…
I’ve made this before with King Arthur Measure for Measure GF flour, you could also use Bob’s Red Mill. Both are good substitutes. It’s not quite the same cake (I’ve made it SO MANY TIMES with regular flour!) but it’s not bad.
Can’t wait to try this! How can I make the recipe without zucchini Thanks for hundreds of great creations!
Taking out the zucchini would alter this recipe too much, If you want a plain blueberry cake with lemon frosting, try my Blueberry Lemon Cake
I’m not overly fond of blueberries but I love this cake. Since a lemon is required for the frosting I put the lemon zest in the cake batter. It adds a little brightness to the cake.
I would like to make this for Easter. Can you give me an idea of an approximate amount of fresh lemon juice the icing will need.
You should be fine with one lemon Kathy. You may need a little more or less depending on how much sugar you add.
Hi Sue,Where is the video
Hi Sue, Where is the video? I can’t find it.
Hi Kay– you can find the video for this recipe towards the bottom of the recipe card section of the post, right above the Notes section. Hope this helps!
I see the word video, but it won’t do anything.
Hi Kay – the video should be right under the word ‘video’. if you click the “play” button on the box just below where it says “video” the video should begin to play. Let me know if you are having issues with it, it could be an issue with your browser or computer.
Can this cake be frozen?
Hi Carmen – you could try freezing this cake without the buttercream and thaw before frosting it, that should be fine.
This looks and sounds soooo good! I want to try this recipe. Can I use a different pan? I don’t have a 9 x 13 pan
You can try it as a layer cake in 2 round cake pans, either 8 or 9″.
Thank you for that. I do have a large glass baking dish. Would this bake well in that?
If the pan measures 9×13, then yes.
Great. Thank you. I will give it a try.
This was such an amazing recipe!!! Requested time and time again. I do add real squeezed lemon to the batter. However I don’t make icing, so the lemon flavor is in the mix