Zucchini cake is a bit of a cliché. It’s what you make from an unusable super-sized, seedy, homegrown zucchini that was dropped off on your front porch.

Poor maligned zucchini. I happen to love it. The key is to keep it small and pick it often.

In season we eat garden-fresh zucchini dishes three or four times a week. Maybe sauteed with homegrown onions or fresh garlic (that was one of the best), or stewed with tomatoes and basil. Sometimes it’s finely shaved and sauteed with garlic and hot pepper flakes and tossed with pasta. The season is heading to a close, though. Three of my plants are barely hanging on and the new ones are still tiny. Our zucchini abbondanza may be ending too soon.

It’s clear how I feel about zucchini in savory dishes but I don’t always love it in a cake. Too often these cakes are made from that aforementioned overgrown zucchini, and they can be dull. Recently, though, my neighbor served a delicious version. A lovely, tall Bundt cake delicately flecked with green bits of zucchini and drizzled with a lemony glaze. My mind was opened.

I decided on a version of my own. This one, adapted from David Lebovitz, is an olive oil- cake, nutty, moist and suffused with warm spices. The crunchy lemon glaze, brushed over the cake while it’s still hot, makes it a showstopper. Lebovitz credits the recipe to the late pastry chef, Gina De Palma.

Be sure to grease the Bundt pan really well, and try and use a metal pan that has a nonstick coating. I buttered my pan and sprayed it with cooking spray, in an abundance of paranoia. Then carefully flour the pan, getting flour in all the crannies and bang out the excess. For best flavor, let the cake age a day before eating. It’s tough, I know.

Zucchini Bundt Cake with Lemon Glaze
Makes 1 Bundt cake.
Adapted from DavidLebovitz.com.

Cake:

1 cup almonds, pecans or walnuts, toasted and cooled
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, spooned into cups and leveled off
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher or sea salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
1 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 ½ cups grated zucchini, about 1 pound (see note about moisture)

Glaze:

1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
¼ cup fresh lemon juice

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Generously grease a 10-cup (nonstick, if possible) Bundt pan (I used both butter and nonstick spray) and carefully dust the pan with flour, tapping out the excess.

2. Pulse the toasted, cooled nuts in a food processor until finely chopped, with a few bigger pieces. Don’t let the mixture turn to flour or become oily.

3. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.

4. In a large bowl, whisk the eggs. Add the sugar and oil and whisk until the mixture is light and fluffy. Whisk in the vanilla. With a wooden spoon, mix in the dry ingredients about 1/3 at a time, until blended. Do not overmix. Stir in the chopped nuts and then the zucchini.

5. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, until browned, a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the cake has begun to shrink from the sides of the pan. Transfer to a wire rack. With a table knife, carefully loosen the edges of the cake and let it cool for 30 minutes.

6. Meanwhile, make the glaze: Sift the confectioners’ sugar into a medium bowl. Whisk in the granulated sugar and lemon juice until smooth.

7. After the cake has cooled 30 minutes, loosen the edges again and turn it out onto a rack.  Place the cake on the rack on a rimmed baking sheet. Spoon and brush the glaze over the hot cake. Scrape up any glaze from the pan and spoon it back over the cake as best you can. Let the cake cool completely. Transfer to a plate, cover loosely and let it stand a day, if possible, before serving.

Note: If your zucchini seems watery as you’re grating it, put it in a large strainer and press down to remove any moisture. Then pat it dry with paper towels.

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Written by
Miriam Rubin