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This is a fully loaded, very moist cake. We’ve made this in our test kitchen and served it to visitors to our store in Rigby, Idaho. Invariably, they ask for the recipe.
The grated zucchini makes it moist but it’s also loaded with chopped nuts—we’ve always used walnuts--and cinnamon chips.
Like most sheet cakes, it’s easy to make.
Ingredients:
3/4 cup butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tablespoon baking powder
2 cups grated zucchini or other summer squash
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup cinnamon chips
For the Frosting:
4 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon lemon juice
water
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. With your stand-type mixer and with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and the sugars together. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.
3. Beat in the flour and baking powder. Add the zucchini and nuts.
4. Spread into a greased 9 x 13-inch greased baking pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
5. For the frosting, beat the cream cheese and butter together. Add the powdered sugar and continue beating. Add the vanilla and lemon juice. Add just enough water to bring the frosting to a spreadable consistency. Frost the cake after it has cooled.
A User’s Guide to Cinnamon Chips
Cinnamon chips are shaped and made like chocolate chips but are made with cinnamon instead of cocoa. In the oven, they melt like chocolate chips leaving tiny pockets of sweet cinnamon. They are mini chips, smaller than standard chocolate chips.
Because they melt at a temperature that is higher than body temperature, they will not melt in your mouth as chocolate chips do. They are great for baking but because they don’t melt in your mouth, they’re not for snacking.
Use cinnamon chips just as you would chocolate chips. If you are making yeast bread, put them in at the end of the mixing cycle so that they don’t melt in the kneading.
How Much to Use
Tastes and recipes vary so you may wish to add more or less than these amounts but these are the recommended starting points:
- For muffins, use one cup for 12 muffins.
- For scones, use 3/4 cup per dozen scones.
- For bread, use 3/4 cup per loaf.
- For quick bread, 3/4 cup per loaf.
- For pancakes, use 2/3 cup per one pound of mix.
- For cookies, use 1 1/3 cups per three dozen cookies.
- For cakes, use 1 2/3 cups for a 9 x13-inch cake.
- To complement the cinnamon chips, add one teaspoon good quality cinnamon.
See these cinnamon chips >>
Selected Recipes
This article was written by Dennis Weaver of The Prepared Pantry. Dennis is a baker, a recipe designer, and a writer. He has written a number of baking guides and books including “How to Bake,” a comprehensive baking and reference book.
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