Hi-ho, hi-ho, it’s to the garden I go! And come back with loads of zucchini. And then bake with it. It’s in my blood people. This Lemon Blueberry Cake with loads of gorgeous Zucchini is going to be your new favorite dessert!! Don’t miss my 50 Best Cake Recipes if you want to be inspired!
Lemon Blueberry Cake
This cake is seriously amazing. The combination of lemons and blueberry is timeless, and adding in zucchini (courgettes)is the BEST way to add moisture! I used whole fresh blueberries in the cake and then added copious amounts of lemon flavor and zest to the cake and frosting. I think you will find that this cake is just plain perfect. Try my Lemon Blueberry Sweet Rolls for more of this timeless combination.
Zucchini in Baking
Some folks wonder why do I use zucchini in baking. First off, I love zucchini. It works amazingly as a savory side or is incorporated into desserts. No, you cannot taste the zucchini itself when you are baking, but you do reap the benefits of this vegetable that is packed with moisture.
This cake is moist! Like amazingly so. I popped my cake into the freezer right after baking only because I wanted a nice clean cut. But I do recommend eating when it is still warm and the zucchini bits are lounging around the bursting blueberries in a delightful way.
Can I Use Frozen Blueberries?
Yes, you can! I do recommend allowing them to thaw first. The cake may also be tinted more of a blueish color as the thawed blueberries will bleed a bit more.
Can I Make this Into Bread?
Absolutely. Pour batter into 4 mini loaf pans and bake at 350°F for about 50 minutes or until an inserted toothpick is removed with crumbs, but no wet batter.
More Zucchini Treats
Lemon Blueberry Zucchini Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 cups finely shredded and lightly drained zucchini
- 3 large eggs, lightly beaten, room temperature
- 1 cup (224g) vegetable oil
- 3 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2¼ cups (450g) granulated sugar
- 3 cups (375g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 pint fresh blueberries, you can reserve a few for garnish if so desired
Lemon Buttercream
- 1 cup (226g) butter, room temperature
- 3½ cups confectioners' sugar
- juice of one lemon
- zest of one lemon
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅛ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare two 8-inch round cake pans with butter and flour or use non-stick baking spray.
- Grate a large zucchini (or two small zucchini) and place in a clean dish towel. Life the edges of the towel up and squeeze some of the extra moisture out, but you do not want the zucchini to be dry. You will want 2 total cups of shredded zucchini after it has been drained. Set aside.
- In a large bowl and using a hand mixer, beat together the eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar. Fold in the zucchini.
- Slowly stir in the flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Gently fold in the blueberries. Divide batter evenly between prepared cake pans.
- Bake 35-40 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted in the center of a cake comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes in pans, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.
Lemon Buttercream
- Combine butter, sugar and salt and beat until well combined.
- Add lemon juice and vanilla and continue to beat for another 3 to 5 minute or until creamy.
- Fold in zest (If you are piping this buttercream, I recommend leaving out the zest).
Video
Did you make this recipe?
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If you like this cake be sure to check out my other amazing Zucchini Recipes!
Like these Double Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes. Seriously the best chocolate cupcakes, ever!
I love the cake and frosting is delicious but together it I agree is a bit to sweet. I think the bundt pan is a great idea. I think whipped cream is all I need for a frosting. Thank you for the recipe. I picked fresh blueberries and zucchini today.
Cake was delicious. I even made another with raspberries. The icing recipe was followed to a T and was way to runny for this cake. Maybe an icing with some cream cheese next time?
I AM WONDERING IF I CAN USE GLUTEN, WHEAT, DAIRY, FREE CORN OR OAT FLOUR INSTEAD OF
REGULAR FLOUR. to make the blueberry zucchini cake with lemon buttercream
The only thing wrong with this is that I didn’t know about last week before I ran out of zucchini. Nooooooooo! I also had a lot of lemons and made several things with them. Stupid timing 😉
Just made it as zucchini bread in two loaf pans. Took about 50 minutes at 300. Very good, but next time I will use fewer blueberries.
I LOVE this cake!!!
I just made this cake and while it is DELICIOUS, I baked it for over 40 min in two 8″ round pans, and the centers were still not baked-through. The tops were browned, and I didn’t want them to burn. Has anyone else had this happen?
I was looking for alternatives to this recipe and found this EXACT recipe in James Beard’s book Beard on Bread (p. 169). Pub date 1973. I hate the internet’s disrespect for copyright and crediting. It is in the book as “Carl Gohs’ Zucchini Bread” and has chopped nuts instead of blueberries; otherwise, identical. That just doesn’t happen by chance. Anyway, it’s in the oven, hope it’s good!
Thanks for the info.
Having nuts instead of blueberries is a huge difference — the two cakes/breads wouldn’t taste similar at all. I’ve come up with my own recipes before that were exactly the same as some I found online afterward. It does happen by chance sometimes — there’s only so many ways to put together the same ingredients.
made the cake but it turned out very moist and almost wet in center and green . should I have peeled the zucchini? I also baked in a 9×13 pan. It was delicious and did not stay around long.
This cake was so easy to make. It is delicious. I used,and whole pint of blueberries in the cake batter and used a second pint on too.