Zucchini spice cake is filled with shredded zucchini and cozy fall spices for the most tender and moist sheet cake. Topped with velvety cream cheese frosting and chopped walnuts, this will be your new go-to fall cake recipe.
Recipe summary
Flavor/texture: Moist, tender cake is perfectly sweetened, filled with fall spices, and topped with cream cheese frosting and walnuts. The only hint of zucchini you'll find are the tiny green flecks throughout!
Pan size: 9x13
Serves: 16 or more people
Similar to: Apple Spice Zucchini Mug Cake, Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake, Chocolate Zucchini Cake
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Cake ingredients and substitutions
- Dry ingredients - All-purpose flour, baking powder, and baking soda balance with the wet ingredients and provide structure and lift while your cake bakes. I have not tested this recipe with other types of flours, so I don't suggest making any substitutions. Baking is an exact science, and altering main ingredients can change the density and texture of your cake.
- Wet ingredients - Eggs, brown sugar, shredded zucchini, and oil add moisture and flavor to your cake. Reducing or omitting any of these ingredients can cause your cake to turn out dry.
- Zucchini - You'll need two cups of finely shredded zucchini, or about 2 medium or 3 small zucchini. I recommend weighing your shredded zucchini for best accuracy. Two cups of shredded zucchini (with the liquid) equals about 270 grams.
- Flavor - Vanilla extract, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves add cozy fall flavor to your cake. The spices could be substituted with an apple pie spice blend or pumpkin pie spice blend if desired.
- Frosting ingredients - Confectioner's sugar, unsalted butter, cream cheese, salt, and vanilla extract create a simple cream cheese frosting. Unsalted butter and salt can be substituted with salted butter if desired. Vanilla extract can be substituted with maple extract or cinnamon for a different flavor.
How to make zucchini spice cake
- Add wet ingredients to a large bowl and stir to combine.
- Whisk dry ingredients in a separate bowl, then add to wet ingredients and stir to combine.
- Pour into a 9x13 pan.
- Bake until the center pops back when gently pressed.
- While your cake bakes, add butter and cream cheese to a bowl and mix until smooth and creamy.
- Add confectioner's sugar, vanilla, and salt and beat until smooth and fluffy.
- Spread frosting onto completely cooled cake.
- Top with chopped walnuts before slicing and serving.
Heather's Top Tip
Use an instant-read thermometer to test the doneness of your cakes and cupcakes. Cake is done when it reaches 210F in the center. This ensures your cake is perfectly baked, not undercooked or dry.
Tips and tricks
Do not substitute ingredients - Eggs, sugar, oil, and zucchini all help make this cake moist. Substituting, omitting, or reducing these ingredients can cause your cake to turn out dry.
Properly measure your flour - Improperly measured flour is one of the most common issues I see in baking. Adding extra flour to a recipe can cause your baked goods to turn out dry and dense. I highly recommend using a kitchen scale and clicking 'Metric' in the recipe card to use gram measurements. Scooping flour directly from a bin compacts the flour into the cup, adding up to 25% extra flour to a recipe.
Watch your cake, not the baking time - Ovens all run at slightly different temperatures, and if your oven runs hotter, your cake may be done faster than mine. Check on your cake 5 minutes early, especially if this is your first time making this recipe.
Don't slice into a hot cake - Slicing into hot baked goods releases steam (moisture), making it dry once it has cooled down. Allow your cake to cool completely to room temperature before frosting and slicing.
Frosting will melt on hot cake - Do not frost a hot cake. Buttercream frosting melts around 90 to 95 degrees Fahrenheit and will melt when added to a warm cake.
Frequently asked questions
No. For this recipe, you should not squeeze the liquid from your zucchini. We're using that liquid to add moisture and thin the batter to achieve the proper rise in the oven.
No, there's no need to peel your zucchini. The skin and flesh melt seamlessly into the cupcakes as they bake. The only sign of zucchini you'll see are the green flecks throughout the cake.
No, zucchini has a mild flavor that makes it ideal for baking. Cucumber has a fresh "melon" flavor that's much more pronounced and not ideal for hiding in baked goods. For more information: Zucchini vs Cucumber - What's the Difference?
I recommend shredding zucchini using the small or "fine" side of a box grater. The smaller pieces melt right into the cake as it bakes. A larger grate also works but adds a more noticeable texture. Here's the box grater I use: Amazon: OXO Good Grips Box Grater
Once assembled, your cake can be stored at room temperature for about two hours. After that, due to the cream cheese frosting, your cake should be refrigerated.
Your cake will keep in the refrigerator, tightly covered, for up to 5 days.
Zucchini cake, either whole or in slices, can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, or on the counter top for 2-3 hours before serving.
This cake is prepared in a 9x13 baking pan. This quantity of batter would also work in two 8-inch or 9-inch round cake pans to make a layer cake (like my lemon zucchini cake recipe) or in a 13x18 sheet pan. Baking times will vary when using different pan sizes.
📖 Recipe
Zucchini Spice Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Zucchini spice cake
- 2 ½ cups (300 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 cups (270 g) finely shredded zucchini, do not squeeze liquid out
- 1 ½ cups (320 g) light brown sugar
- 1 cup (198 g) vegetable oil
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cream cheese frosting
- 8 ounces (227 g) block-style cream cheese, room temperature
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 3 ½ cups (400 g) confectioner's sugar
Instructions
Zucchini spice cake
- Preheat oven to 350℉ and lightly grease a 9x13 baking pan. Set aside.
- In a bowl, add dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Whisk to remove clumps and set aside.
- In a separate bowl, add wet ingredients: shredded zucchini (do not squeeze liquid out), brown sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla extract. Stir until incorporated.
- Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir until just incorporated (do not overmix).
- Pour cake batter into prepared 9x13 baking pan and bake for about 28 to 34 minutes, or until the center pops back when gently pressed. If you have an instant-read thermometer, cake is done when it reaches 210F in the center.
- Allow cake to cool completely to room temperature before frosting or slicing.
Cream cheese frosting
- In a large bowl, add room temperature cream cheese and butter and beat until creamy. Add vanilla, salt, and confectioner's sugar and slowly mix until ingredients are fully combined. Then, whip at high speed for 2-3 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
- As written, this frosting turns out soft and creamy (not pipeable). For a stiffer frosting, add more confectioner's sugar as desired.
- Spread frosting in an even layer onto cooled cake. Optionally, top with chopped walnuts or pecans.
Recommended Equipment
Video
Notes
- Frosting: Recipe makes a nice thick layer of frosting for your 9x13 sheet cake (as pictured). If you prefer less frosting, feel free to cut the frosting recipe in half.
- Nutrition: based on slicing cake into 16 pieces. Cake can be sliced to serve 24 or more guests.
- Storage: Cake will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
- Food safety: Cream cheese frosting needs to be refrigerated if it sits out more than 2 hours. Store frosted baked goods in the refrigerator in a tightly sealed container. Remove and bring to room temperature 30 minutes before serving.
- Freezing: Cake (whole or in slices) can be frozen for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator overnight, or on the countertop for 2 to 3 hours.
Outstanding! I made this recipe using 2 round cake pans. Had enough icing to put a thick layer between the cake layers and slather on top, so will make another half recipe of icing to cover the sides next time. The cake is very moist and the best recipe I've found so far - my husband loves it and said we won't be sharing this cake with the neighbors! We're down to the last few zucchini for the season, so I plan to try your Oatmeal Zucchini Cookies recipe today.
One question: Are you using a dry cup for measuring the shredded zucchini or liquid measuring cup? I used the liquid measure since you listed it with the liquid ingredients.
So glad to hear you enjoyed the cake!
I measure the shredded zucchini by weight, but would use a dry measuring cup otherwise.
Delicious! My whole family LOVES it! Even the pickiest of kids were eating it up and asking for more!
Would this be okay in a sheet cake pan and have them be bars instead?
Yes, this amount of batter would work in a 13x18 half sheet pan. The baking time would be significantly less (I'd estimate about 18-20 minutes total).
The salt was not missing in your recipe. The cake turned out to be very delicious.
Love the flavor of this recipe! Have you ever made the batter and frozen it to use at a later date? Just thinking it would be nice to just be able to pull it out of the freezer and bake since I have a fair bit of zucchini to use up😁
I've never tried freezing batter, but baked cake freezes and thaws beautifully!
Wonderfully moist and warm. Added orange zest to the frosting.
This was a very easy cake to make. I think the batter could have used a bit of salt. But...it was delicious and a nice change from zucchini bread. I shredded up all the zucchini I was given and froze it in 2 cup increments so we xan make again. Raisins would be a good addition to the batter!
Hi Kathy, I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed the cake! Thank you for pointing out that salt was missing from the ingredient list - I have it listed within the post and in the ingredient photo, but it was missed in the recipe card itself. This has been fixed 🙂
Could I use butter instead of vegetable oil?
I haven't tested it myself, but butter should work just fine as a substitute.
We love the spices in this cake. It's a keeper! Thank you for the recipe.
Thanks Suzanne, so glad to hear you enjoyed the cake!