This Zucchini Bundt Cake with Crunchy Lemon Glaze is out of this world! A delicious, tender cake finished off with a fabulous lemon glaze. . . you’re going to fall in love with this
(Originally published July 22, 2020)
You may have made a zucchini bundt cake or two in your lifetime, but you haven’t had this cake. The cake itself is completely fabulous and could be eaten as is, nothing else on top. But the crunchy lemon glaze takes this take to a whole new level of amazingness! The granulated sugar in the glaze gives it a little bit of crunch and makes this cake unbelievably good. Please, whatever you do, DO NOT skip the glaze!
I shared this at my in-laws house over the weekend and and to say everyone went a little crazy over it would be an understatement. I came home with an empty plate.
TIPS FOR MAKING THIS ZUCCHINI BUNDT CAKE:
- Normally I am always saying “don’t over bake”, but with this cake, you definitely don’t want to under bake it. A toothpick or cake tester should come out completely clean. Also, when you’re checking to see if it’s done, check more towards the middle of the cake, rather than the outer edge.
- If you don’t have a bundt pan, you can make this in a tube pan.
- This cake can be covered or wrapped and will keep for a few days. You can also freeze this cake, unglazed and then defrost it completely and let it come to room temperature before you put the glaze on.
- I place a piece of parchment paper under the cooling rack the cake is on. Then after I’ve brushed all the glaze on the cake, and it’s dripped down the sides, I lift the cooling rack onto either a clean piece of parchment paper or onto a baking sheet and scrape up the glaze that dripped onto the first piece of parchment paper and spoon it back over the cake. The glaze is so good, you will want to use every last bit of it and not leave any behind.
CAN I LEAVE THE NUTS OUT?
I think most of you know I’m not a huge fan of nuts in baked goods, so I chose to leave the nuts out of this cake and didn’t miss them at all. So yes, you can leave them out, but if you love nuts, then by all means toss them in.
CAN I USE CANOLA OR VEGETABLE OIL INSTEAD OF OLIVE OIL?
Yes you can. I was hesitant the first time I made to use olive oil because I was worried the olive oil taste would be too overpowering in this cake. So the first time I made it I used half olive oil and have canola oil. It was delicious and I couldn’t detect the olive oil taste at all. The second time I made it, I used all olive oil and it was delicious. I couldn’t taste the olive oil at all. Now when I make it I use all olive oil. Feel free to use whatever combination of oil you’d like.
If you don’t have a garden overflowing with zucchini, then you’re going to want to get your hands on some as quickly as possible and make this cake. If you don’t love it as much I know you will, then feel free to send it my way and I’ll gladly take it off your hands.
OTHER ZUCCHINI RECIPES YOU WILL LOVE:
Browned Butter Zucchini Coffee Cake
Zucchini Cupcakes with Caramel Frosting
Low Fat Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread
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Zucchini Bundt Cake with Crunchy Lemon Glaze
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 14–16 servings 1x
Ingredients
Cake:
- 1 cup almonds, pecans, or walnuts, toasted (optional)
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
- 3 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 3/4 cups sugar
- 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups grated zucchini
Lemon Glaze:
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease and flour bundt pan (10-12 cup size), tapping out any excess flour.
- Pulse the nuts in a food processor or chop until finely chopped.
- In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs, sugar, and olive oil for 3 minutes on medium speed, until light and fluffy. Stop and scrape down the sides of the mixer, then add the vanilla.
- Mix in the dry ingredients, scraping down the sides of the mixer bowl as needed. Continue to mix until everything is well combined, about 30 more seconds on medium speed.
- Stir in the chopped nuts (if using) and zucchini.
- Scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan, smooth the top, then bake the cake for 45 to 50 minutes, until the toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the cake has begun to pull away from the sides of the pan. Do not underbake the cake.
- Let the cake cool for 10-15 minutes, then carefully invert it onto a cooling rack.
Lemon Glaze:
- While the cake is cooling, make the lemon glaze by whisking together the lemon juice, granulated sugar, and powdered sugar.
- Leave the cake on the cooling rack and place a piece of parchment paper or a large cookie sheet underneath it. Brush the glaze over the cake with a pastry brush and let the cake cool completely.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 50 mins
Recipe Source: DavidLebovitz.com
This cake is so yummy! I made it a couple of weeks ago, and everyone in my family loved it (even my zucchini-hating teenager). Tonight I told my husband that I wanted to make something with zucchini, and asked what he thought I should make. He said, “How about that bundt cake? I really liked that.”
I took his suggestion and made this cake again. I just finished glazing it. It’s a bit of a process, but works well for me. I put the cooling rack with the cake over a large plate, pour the glaze on the cake, and let it drip onto the plate. Then I move the rack over another plate, scrape the extra glaze off the first plate onto the cake, and repeat this process until all of it remains on the cake. It takes a while, but is worth the effort. Yum!! I don’t know if I can wait until tomorrow to have a slice.
Hi Becky! I’m so happy you loved this cake, it’s one of my favorite things to bake with zucchini. I did exactly what you did with the glaze and scraped all the extra off and then re-poured it over the cake. . . definitely can’t let any of that glaze go to waste! Thanks for letting me know you made and loved this.
Hi! Love your recipes! I want to make this cake but wondering if zucchini should be grated using large side of grater or small. Thanks!
Hi Carole! Thanks for the sweet comment! This cake is seriously amazing, I can’t wait for you to try it. I use the larger side of my box grater.