Zucchini-Pecan Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

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One Year Ago: Lemon Layer Cake with Lemon Curd and Mascarpone

Ok, before I give away this delicious recipe I would like to announce a little something I will be doing for the next couple of days. I have a lot of giveaways to put out there and I’m going to do a giveaway bonanza!  Hooray! Who doesn’t love free stuff? So here is the deal. I posted a Saucy Mama Product giveaway on my last post which I will remind you to go and enter now. Click here to enter.

My next giveaway will be on September 11th, the day I announce the winner the Saucy Mama giveaway. Wanna know what you could win in that next giveaway? Well hold on to your hats ladies and gentleman it’s a $65 gift certificate to CSN Stores!  Have you heard of them? They offer everything from dutch ovens to high heeled shoes. Talk about a selection! There will also be a third giveaway to be announced in a few days. Whoosh. Lots of giveaways and lots of happy blog readers Hope you all enjoy this little bonanza

Now, finally onto the cake!  Obviously summer brings an overabundance of zucchini.  Growing up we always had them overflowing out of our garden. Now that I’m older and live on my own in NY there is not much space for a garden.  I refused to buy zucchini all summer long because for the most part I found it to be crazy expensive. I have this weird thing about paying for things I used to get for free. I know this does not make a lot sense but it just kills me to pay high prices for produce. I totally get why it’s cheaper to eat unhealthy. Ok, lets get back on track and start talking about this cake. It was very moist and flavorful with hints of cinnamon and ginger. I enjoyed the crunchy texture the pecans and the cinnamon cream cheese frosting was literally the icing on the cake Enjoy! (I did end up purchasing this zucchini but I bought it off the “reduced price gotta go now it’s about to rot” fruit table at the grocery store…there is no shame at looking at this table. You can get plenty of fine produce off this table if you plan on using it right away.)

Zucchini-Pecan Cake with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting:

Cake:
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 cup olive oil (not extra-virgin)
1 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups coarsely grated zucchini (about 8 ounces)
3/4 cup chopped pecans

Frosting:
1/2 8-ounce package Philadelphia brand cream cheese (do not use reduced-fat or fat-free) – room temperature
3 tablespoons unsalted butter – room temperature
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I added a lot more)

For cake:
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Line 9-inch-diameter cake pan with 2-inch-high sides with parchment paper. Coat parchment paper with nonstick spray.

Whisk flour, baking powder, coarse salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg in medium bowl to blend well. Whisk oil, sugar, eggs, and vanilla in large bowl to blend well; fold in flour mixture, then grated zucchini and pecans. Transfer cake batter to prepared pan.

Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool cake completely in pan on rack, about 1 hour. Cut around sides of pan to loosen. Turn cake out onto platter; peel off parchment paper.

For frosting:
Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter in medium bowl until blended. Beat in sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon. Spread frosting thickly over top of cake. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.

Cut cake into wedges and serve.

Source: Epicurious

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