Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

Wait a minute, it's AUGUST?! How did that happen?? The summer is almost over!! My boys go to school in TWO WEEKS!!! There are so many things we were going to do this summer that we never did! I was going to work on flash cards with Stephen! I was going to make Joe practice reading!! Okay, I managed that last one, but he's going to be in school ALL DAY! My shopping buddy is leaving me! It's been a good summer, but maybe the fastest one I can remember. And now it's almost over. Well, not the actual season, we still have a good month or two of that left, but the out-of-school part. Part of me feels like I wasted it... but it was a happy summer, so who cares if we didn't go to the water park, or go for hikes, or make it to the dragon boat festival. The boys and I have had a nice, mellow, sun-soaked summer, mostly right here at home. What better way to finish it off than with a week at the cabin??

I won't be blogging next week, as I will be away from my desktop, but I'll be back on the 11th with more recipes and fun cabin pictures. Enjoy your first week of August!!

Zucchini Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Printable Recipe

2 cups flour

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup oil

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups grated fresh zucchini

8 oz cream cheese, softened

4 Tb butter, softened

2/3 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease/butter a 9x13 baking dish. (For thicker cake, use a smaller dish)

Whisk all the dry ingredients together. Add the egg, vanilla, and oil, and mix well. The mixture will be crumbly. Stir in the zucchini until it clumps together.

Press dough into the bottom of the baking dish, spreading it out evenly. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the top is golden brown. Let cool before frosting and cutting.

Combine the cream cheese, butter, sugar, and vanilla, and beat together until smooth and fluffy. Spread over the cake.

I hate zucchini. You will never, ever find it in my garden. BUT, when you turn it into a dense, homey cake warm with cinnamon, slathered with cream cheese frosting? I'll eat zucchini all day long!!

This recipe comes from my mother-in-law, and for years the Geologist called it "zucchini bars" and begged me to make them, which just plain sounded gross to me. I was so surprised, when I finally made it, and it turned out to be cake! Completely scrumptious cake, at that!!

I know lots of your gardens are beginning to overflow with zucchini... so here's another recipe to help you use them up!