Our sheet pan zucchini cake recipe with frosting is like cake, but make it healthy (ish) in a sneaky way! It is the best ever zucchini cake recipe, where you wouldn’t even know a vegetable is in the cake if you weren’t the one making it.
Enjoy this delicious sheet pan zucchini cake recipe with frosting on top! During the summer my garden always produces so much zucchini, so being able to use some in a decadant way is a nice change.
This zucchini recipe is a nice summer dessert recipe that doesn’t have to break your diet too much. Don’t get me wrong, there is still sugar in it, but you can say you’ve had vegetables today too! 😉
Plus, we make this one super simple by not even needing to grate up the zucchini, and just using a blender get the zucchini to a nice puree consistency. Not only does it allow the moisture of the zucchini to spread throughout the cake, but it hides the fact that the zucchini is in there at all.
Ingredient Notes
- Zucchini
- Butter, melted
- Sugar
- Milk
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Flour
- Baking soda
- Cinnamon
- Salt
- Nutmeg
- Cloves
- Cream cheese
- Unsalted butter
- Powdered sugar
How To Make Our Sheet Pan Zucchini Cake with Frosting:
- To make this delicious zucchini cake, start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees.
- Then prepare a large 15x10x 1 inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and set the pan aside.
- Now peel the zucchini and cut out the seeds.
- Once the zucchini is seeded, cut it into large chunks and throw it in a blender and blend up the zucchini until it becomes a puree consistency.
Note: For the cake you will need about 1 ½ cups of the zucchini puree for this recipe.
- After you are done pureeing the zucchini, set it aside.
- Now in a large mixing bowl, cream together the softened butter, sugar, and milk.
- Once that is set, add in the eggs, fresh zucchini puree, and the vanilla extract and continue mixing everything together.
- Then, in another medium sized mixing bowl, measure and pour in the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, cloves, and then whisk it all together.
- When the dry ingredients are well combined, add them to the wet ingredients (the zucchini mixture) and finish mixing everything together until they are just combined. DO NOT over mix the batter.
- Once you have the cake batter ready, pour it into your prepared pan and spread it out evenly with your spatula.
- Now place the cake pan in the oven for about 14-18 minutes, or until you insert a toothpick and it comes out clean.
- When the cake is done baking, remove it from the oven and let it cool completely.
Frosting
- Start by beating the softened cream cheese, softened butter, and vanilla extract in a bowl until they are nice and smooth.
- Then add in a pinch of salt, as well as the powdered sugar and continue to mix together well.
- Add in some milk a tablespoon at a time until you reach your desired consistency that is easily spread.
- Once the cake is cool, simply spread the frosting on top of the cake and then decorate it as you want or leave it as is and enjoy!
Storing and Other Tips
Place cake in an airtight container or wrapped tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
If you plan on using a zucchini fresh from your garden be sure it is ripe and ready to go! Make sure it is firm and not mushy. Zucchini is one of the best vegetables to grow in the summer and it comes in abundance.
Other Zucchini Recipes You’ll Love
- Zucchini Feta Bruschetta
- Double Chocolate Zucchini Cookies Recipe
- Pina Colada Zucchini Bread Recipe
- Baked Zucchini Bites Recipe
Sheet Pan Zucchini Cake with Frosting
This is the best ever zucchini cake recipe, where you wouldn’t even know a vegetable is in the cake if you weren’t the one making it.
Serving servings
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 large zucchini, or 2 medium zucchinis
- ½ cup butter, melted
- 1¼ cup sugar
- ½ cup milk
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2½ cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon cloves
Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
- ½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- 4 cups powdered sugar
- 2-3 Tablespoons milk, (more or less to reach desired consistency)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Spray a large cookie sheet or baking sheet (15x10x1-inch) with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
- Peel zucchini, cut out the seeds, and cut into large chunks. Throw the chunks into a blender and blend until it turns into a "puree" – you will need about 1 1/2 cups of puree for this cake. Set zucchini puree aside.
- In a mixing bowl, cream butter, sugar, and milk together. Add in eggs, zucchini puree, and vanilla and mix again until all combined.
- In another mixing bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and cloves together. Add the dry ingredients in with the wet zucchini ingredients and mix until they are just combined (don't over mix).
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan and spread it around the pan evenly using a spatula.
- Place pan in the pre-heated oven and bake for 14-18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove cake from the oven and allow it to cool completely.
- To make frosting, beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla together in a bowl. Add in a pinch of salt and powdered sugar and mix well. Add a little bit of milk until it reaches the desired consistency you are looking for (you will want to be sure that it's easy to spread onto the cake, but not too thin that it's runny).
- You can serve this cake at room temperature or for a cold treat, stick it in the fridge until you serve.
Notes
If you plan on using a zucchini fresh from your garden be sure it is ripe and ready to go. It should be firm not mushy.
Nutrition
Calories: 181 kcal · Carbohydrates: 29 g · Protein: 2 g · Fat: 7 g · Saturated Fat: 4 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 2 g · Trans Fat: 0.2 g · Cholesterol: 27 mg · Sodium: 146 mg · Potassium: 53 mg · Fiber: 0.4 g · Sugar: 21 g · Vitamin A: 230 IU · Vitamin C: 1 mg · Calcium: 21 mg · Iron: 1 mg
Did You Make This Recipe?We’d love to hear your thoughts! Leave a review or a question in the comment section below the post.
