Zucchini Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting is a classic for a reason ~ this moist zucchini walnut cake is delicious even without the generous layer of fluffy cream cheese buttercream!
zucchini sheet cake is a potluck classic
Some people can’t control themselves around ice cream, others have issues with chocolate…for me, it’s an old fashioned zucchini sheet cake with cream cheese frosting. If nobody is watching I might will eat the whole pan. It’s one of those one size fits all desserts ~ wherever hungry people are gathered, zucchini cake just works.
what you’re gonna need
- zucchini
- walnuts
- sugar
- eggs
- buttermilk
- vegetable oil
- flour
- baking powder, baking soda, and salt
- vanilla extract
- cream cheese
- confectioner’s sugar
- lemon juice
zucchini is the star of this sheet cake
Who doesn’t like to grate zucchini? Unlike those knuckle busting nuggets of Parm, zucchini slides across the grater with ease and before you know it, you’ve got a big pile of feathery green shreds. I like to use small zucchini when I bake because the extra peel equals more color and flavor. Large zucchini with their vast white interiors can be bland and watery.
this is an easy one bowl recipe
- Choose a large mixing bowl and whisk the wet ingredients together. This recipe uses oil so it’s super quick.
- Fold in the dry ingredients.
- Fold a couple of cups of shredded zucchini into the simple batter, along with a cup of nuts. I think walnuts are key to a great zucchini cake, but you can absolutely leave them out if you like, or substitute pecans.
- Turn into a greased pan and bake!
can we talk about that cream cheese frosting?
The crowning glory of this zucchini cake is the tangy cream cheese buttercream frosting. It’s made with softened cream cheese, softened butter, sugar, vanilla, and a squeeze of fresh lemon. Gob. it. on.
zucchini sheet cake tips and faqs
No! The peel is nutritious, beautiful, and tasty!
No, I use the zucchini as is. I like to grate it shortly before I add it to the batter, though.
I have tried this and don’t love the result, but you can use golden zucchini, which works great.
The cake itself will freeze perfectly, but I would plan to frost it after thawing.
Moist zucchini cake keeps well, but because of the cream cheese rich frosting, I would refrigerate any leftovers of this cake.
This is most likely because you didn’t start with soft cream cheese. See my post on how to bring cold ingredients up to temperature quickly for tips.
more zucchini recipes
- Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Blue Ribbon Zucchini Pie
- Zucchini Parmesan Crisps
- Blueberry Zucchini Snack Cake with Lemon Buttercream
- Gluten Free Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Blueberry Zucchini Muffins
- Lemon Poppy Seed Zucchini Bread
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Zucchini Sheet Cake
Equipment
- 9×13 baking pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 cups lightly packed shredded zucchini
- 1 cup finely chopped walnuts
frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese, completely soft
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, soft
- 3 cups confectioner’s sugar
- lemon juice, about 1 Tbsp
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F Spray a 9×13 pan with cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl whisk together the oil, sugar, eggs, buttermilk, vanilla, and cinnamon until smooth.
- Toss together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt, and add the bowl. Mix just until completely blended. Fold in the zucchini and the nuts.
- Turn the batter into your prepared pan and bake for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out without wet batter clinging to it (moist crumbs are fine.) Some ovens run hot or cool, so check carefully.
- Let the cake cool completely before frosting.
- To make the frosting beat the cream cheese and butter together until fluffy. Add the lemon juice and the sugar, one cup at a time, while beating. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary. Add more sugar if the frosting is too thin, and a little more lemon juice or milk if it is too thick.
Nutrition
Do you peel your zucchini first before adding to your mixture?
Nope, I love the peel!
Hi Sue….Could I use this recipe for a layer cake, using 2 circular cake pans?
Sure, that would work.
Congratulations! This cake is so incredibly delicious! It definitely is going in my cook book to keep forever. My whole family just loved it. I was wondering if I could substitute carrot instead of zucchini for a carrot cake? Would it throw off the consistency?
Thanks Jessica, I’m always honored when one of my recipes goes into the family recipe box! I think you could sub in carrots without much of an issue, go for it!
Do you drain the zucchini and squeeze the moisture out? Thank you. Sounds delish!
You can if you like, but I don’t. I think it just adds to a moist cake.
Made it with Mexican Zucchini because that’s what I had on hand, it was delicious and moist, making it again today to take to my in laws, so yummy!!
Do you think it would taste okay to substitute golden raisins for the walnuts?
If you don’t like nuts feel free to leave them out, and I do think golden raisins would be a good addition 🙂
Can i use something in place of the buttermilk? I think i saw yrs. ago how u can add something to regular milk to make it like buttermilk…do u know how i could do this? Not a fan of buttermilk, but would love to make this cake. Thanks for help.
You can add 1 tsp of lemon juice or vinegar to a cup of milk to make a quasi buttermilk. Let it sit for 15 minutes before using. But you can use regular milk as well, it won’t be a problem.
I would love to make this cake, only thing is I am on Weight Watchers and 1 slice would be alot of my points. Too bad you don’t have a less fat and sugar recipe. I would try it then. Do you know the sat fat, sugar, calories and protein in this recipe
I look forward to trying this. Can the oil be split with half unsweetened applesauce and for a different flavor, may unsweetened cocoa be added for a chocolate version? If so, about how much. Thank you for sharing!
I think you can make the applesauce substitution without a problem Elizabeth. And I’m guessing you could substitute cocoa powder for an equal amount of flour. I’d start with maybe 1/3 ~ 1/2 cup cocoa? (maybe even add some chocolate chips.) Sounds like a nice idea!
Bring on the zucchini cake (and all the swirls of frosting!!).
Wish I’d known about this recipe years ago when we grew so many zucchini we fed them to the hens! Sent my husband to the farm stand today to buy some just to try this recipe! Sounds delicious!
Oh gosh, this is a much better use for all that zucchini 😉