Ingredients
I recently made the zucchini hazelnut cake for the summer party at our kids' kindergarten. It was actually the very first thing to go! Which I, admittedly, didn't expect. Because the zucchini cake with oil looks rather unimpressive and not exciting.
But apparently, the little ones have intuitively decided on the good inner values 😉 . And thus for a delicious portion of vitamins. Sure, you cannot precisely say that the zucchini cake is healthy. (If that's important to you, you should look at my healthier recipes on the blog, or, for example, my sugarfree creations). But the vegetables and nuts still make this cake a bit healthier than regular ones.
How to make the Zucchini Nut Cake
At the beginning, grease a large loaf pan and dust it with flour or ground nuts. Preheat the oven to 360°F/180°C, wash and peel the zucchini, grate finely and squeeze out the excess water.
Now, beat the eggs with the sugar for a few minutes until very foamy and stir in the oil. Then, mix flour, nuts, baking powder, cinnamon, and vanilla and stir in as well. Finally, fold in the zucchini shavings.
Continue with pouring the dough into the pan and smoothing it out. Bake the cake for about 50-55 minutes and let it cool in the pan. Then turn out. Dust with powdered sugar or frost with liquid cake glaze or melted chocolate glaze. In the end, decorate with chopped nuts.
Top Tip
Does it sound strange to you to bake sweet pastries with zucchini? But it is not at all. The easy zucchini cake is basically the counterpart to the classic carrot cake. After all, both vegetables taste quite subtle - making them perfect for spicing up cake recipes. And to convince children of vegetables 😉 .
Recipe Card
Zucchini Nut Cake
Equipment
- 1 Loaf Pan (12 in / 30 cm)
Ingredients
For the dough
- 300 grams (2 ⅖ cups) zucchini
- 4 eggs, medium
- 190 grams (1 cup) brown sugar, or coconut/cane sugar
- 125 milliliters (8 ½ tablespoons) sunflower oil
- 250 grams (2 cups) all-purpose flour
- 150 grams (1 ⅓ cups) ground hazelnuts
- 1 small bag baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 piece vanilla pod, the pulp
For the optional decoration
- 150 grams (¾ cup) chocolate icing, or chocolate coating
- hazelnuts, chopped
Instructions
- Grease a large loaf pan and dust it with flour or ground nuts. Preheat the oven to 360°F/180°C. Wash and peel the zucchini, grate finely and squeeze out the excess water.
- Beat the eggs with the sugar for a few minutes until very foamy. Stir in the oil. Mix flour, nuts, baking powder, cinnamon, and vanilla. Stir in as well. Finally, fold in the zucchini shavings.
- Pour the dough into the pan and smooth it out. Bake the cake for about 50-55 minutes. Let cool in the pan, then turn out. Dust with powdered sugar or frost with liquid cake glaze or melted chocolate glaze. Decorate with chopped nuts.
Ingredient substitutions
Variations
In addition, various recipe alternatives are possible: for a zucchini nut cake without flour, simply use more nuts. However, the result is likely highly moist due to the extra fat, which may make it more unstable. If you want the zucchini cake to be low carb, take xylitol or erythritol instead of sugar. We like the basic version of the hazelnut zucchini cake best. It's a wonderful use of vegetables!
About Kathrin & Jan
It's like a little miracle to me every time. Seemingly simple ingredients are made into something that can brighten up your life. Butter, sugar, eggs, and flour melt into an airy biscuit, a fine tart, a juicy cake, or a crispy biscuit. Baking simply makes you happy. Welcome and enjoy our blog!
Kathrin & Jan
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