Hi Everyone,
A vegetable that is plentiful this time of year is zucchini. There are so many ways to use it, grill it, saute it, fry it, sub it for noodles and add it into desserts. Today I thought I would add it into dessert. I have been pretty good on the whole sugar thing and I thought I would reward myself with a pretty low-calorie cake if you ask me. I tried to make it as healthy as possible without losing it’s moisture and flavor. Today I have for you my Blueberry Lemon Zucchini Cake.
This cake exceeded my expectations. It’s light, moist and has so much flavor. Plus I found it sweet enough with out be overly sweet. It has fresh blueberries that just pop in your mouth and the lemon flavor is so perfect. I am so happy with this recipe and I think you will be too.
I made a lot of healthy substitutions in the recipe. I used applesauce instead of butter, coconut oil instead of vegetable oil, non-fat milk instead of sour cream and I cut the sugar in half. This recipe would normally call for 2 cups of sugar, I used 1 and trust me that is all that is needed.
During the last moment, I decided to make a lemon glaze to go over the top. It’s not necessary, but I thought it would add a nice sweetness, since the cake is not overly sweet.
The zucchini adds such nice moisture to the cake too. Zucchini is not a favorite vegetable for my Husband, but in desserts he loves it. I used about 2 small zucchini’s for this recipe. When you bake the cake and take it out, you can see all of the green specks of zucchini. Since I added the glaze, you don’t see it so much.
- ½ cup applesauce, unsweetened
- ½ cup coconut oil
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 lemon, zested, juiced
- ½ cup milk, nonfat or milk of choice
- 2¾ cup all-purpose flour
- 2 cups zucchini, shredded
- 1 cup blueberries, fresh or frozen
- For Glaze:
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp. lemon juice
- ½ tsp. vanilla extract
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees
- Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray; set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat together applesauce, coconut oil, vanilla extract, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add eggs; beat until well combined. Add lemon and lemon zest and beat until incorporated.
- Alternate between milk and flour, beat each time, just until combined. Do not over beat.
- Fold in zucchini and blueberries.
- Pour batter into prepared baking dish. Bake in oven for 30-35 minutes, until lightly golden; test with a toothpick by placing tooth pick in the center of cake, if it comes out clean, it's done.
- Let cake cool completely before adding glaze.
- To make Glaze: In a small bowl, add powdered sugar, lemon juice and vanilla extract; whisk until creamy and smooth. If it is to thick, add a pinch of water. it's it's to runny, add a pinch more sugar. Drizzle with a spoon over the cake.
- Cut cake into 24 slices.
I am just loving this cake. It’s so moist and delicious. I honestly can’t get over it. So if you’re looking for something to bake this weekend, try this easy cake recipe.
Have a fab weekend!
Toodles,
Jennifer
