I had this roommate in college named Amie. Once I watched her make zucchini bread, while she increased the recipe by seven times. I tell you, she was amazing. She could septuple fractions like 1 3/4 cups all in her head (Yes, “septuple” is, in fact, a word. Like quadruple, only with seven.) Anyway, it was impressive. Whenever I make zucchini bread now, I think of her.

It seems every kitchen I enter lately has a big zucchini sitting on the counter. I know zucchini bread is a bit overdone, but that’s why it’s perfect for a bake sale.

I call zucchini bread “zucchini cake” at my house. I think it increases the chances of my daughter eating it. This recipe adds a few things extra to actually put it over into the cake category, like glaze, and butter, and cinnamon and sugar. If you’re more in the mood for making banana bread because you don’t have a garden, or don’t have friends with gardens who bring over zucchinis to your house the size of zeppelins (and I can’t leave out Shannon’s reason: because her chickens ate them), you may want to do banana bread for a bake sale. My recipe for that can be found by clicking here.

zucchini pound cake with cinnamon sugar crust and vanilla cream glaze

for the crust:

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon round cinnamon

for the cake:

3 cups (300g) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1 cup (190g) granulated sugar
1 cup (200g) brown sugar
2 sticks (224g) unsalted butter, melted
3 eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup (60g) sour cream
2 cups (300g) finely grated zucchini

for the glaze:

1 cup (130g) confectioner’s sugar
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Mix together cinnamon and sugar for the crust. Butter 6 mini loaf pans and sprinkle with the cinnamon and sugar mixture, just as you would flour a pan. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together the sugars and butter. Add in eggs, one at a time, incorporating well after each addition. Stir in vanilla, sour cream and zucchini.

2. Fold dry ingredients into the zucchini mixture, and divide evenly among pans. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cakes cool in pans for about 10 minutes, then tip on their sides to let cool completely. Carefully remove from pans.

3. Mix together confectioner’s sugar, cream, and vanilla, and whisk until smooth. Add more liquid as necessary to make a smooth, runny glaze. Pour over cakes.

14 Responses to “bake sale week: zucchini pound cake with cinnamon sugar crust”

1. VeggieGirl says:

   8 September 2009 at 7:36 pm

   Love the roommate story and the cake!
2. Jen T says:

   9 September 2009 at 10:00 am

   We have quite a few of those zucchinis around our house. This looks yummy!
3. Carrie says:

   9 September 2009 at 2:30 pm

   Looks delicious! I can’t wait to try the recipe
4. Jen @ MaplenCornbread says:

   9 September 2009 at 4:32 pm

   This is amazing! I LOVE the glaze!!
5. Jamie says:

   9 September 2009 at 6:37 pm

   Gorgeous photos! I will be making this over the weekend! YUM!!!
6. Angel says:

   11 September 2009 at 5:56 pm

   All week there were 4 zucchinis sitting on my counter, staring at me accusingly every time I walked past them. (yes, zucchini can stare!) Thankfully I found your recipe and tried it yesterday, sans glaze. Loved it!
7. grace says:

   13 September 2009 at 1:12 am

   who’re we kidding? banana and zucchini breads pretty much are cakes. we’re just lying to ourselves by calling them bread.
   meanwhile, i’m all about that cinnamon crust!
8. Jas says:

   14 September 2009 at 12:07 am

   Oh this is a delicious and healthier looking cake! I’m definitely going to try making a gluten free version…
9. Christina says:

   14 September 2009 at 5:54 pm

   Looks amazing! So, let’s say I don’t have mini loaf pans and I wanted to bake these in muffin tins or as one large cake, do you think it would work?
10. Christina says:

    15 September 2009 at 6:49 pm

    Thanks for getting back to me so quickly. I made your recipe this morning to share during my Tuesday morning Ladies Bible Study and it was a HUGE hit! Thanks!
11. Jacqueline Ratliff *kitty* says:

    22 September 2009 at 9:04 pm

    Please in the glaze you say cream..what kind of cream? i mean i’m sorry but can i substitute soy milk or?maybe condensed milk? i’m working on a budget i have very little money but i like the glaze and i just need a little clarification.
12. Jaime says:

    22 September 2009 at 9:19 pm

    Anything will work, actually. I like the cream because it’s smoother than other liquids, but you could use lemon juice, milk, soy milk, or even water. It’s whatever will make the confectioner’s sugar runny.
13. Kris Doman says:

    22 October 2009 at 12:51 pm

    I tried this in a “Bundt” pan, and drizzled the glaze over the top. It was amazing! My kids devoured it, even though it had “green things” in it.
14. Julianne says:

    26 January 2010 at 5:00 pm

    Really really tasty!!! ……….so good!