I love incorporating zucchini into baked goods. You know this if you’re familiar with my recipes for vegan zucchini bread and vegan zucchini muffins. I love both of those recipes when I’m craving a sweet snack, but I decided it was time to create a seriously decadent vegan dessert featuring zucchini. Get ready for vegan zucchini cake! You would never guess that a green veggie is one of the main ingredients in this cake. It’s as delicious and decadent as my vegan spice cake, but gets some extra moisture from shredded zucchini, along with bursts of flavor and texture thanks to the addition of walnuts and raisins. You’ll definitely want to give this delicious cake a try, whether you’re looking to use up extra zucchini from the garden, or are just craving a spiced sweet dessert!
Ingredients You’ll Need
Non-dairy milk. You can use pretty much any type of non-dairy milk that’s suitable for drinking, as long as it’s unsweetened and unflavored. I used almond milk, but oat milk, soy milk, and cashew milk are also great choices. Read my guide to dairy-free milks if you need help choosing one. Ground flaxseeds. You’ll be mixing these with some of the non-dairy milk to create a flax egg, which is the vegan egg substitute used in this recipe. Flour. You’ll need all-purpose wheat flour (also known as white flour) for this recipe. Other flours like spelt or gluten-free blends might work, but I haven’t tested the recipe with any of them. Baking powder. Baking soda. Spices. You’ll need ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. Vegetable oil. You can use any neutral oil you like to bake with for this recipe. Corn oil, canola oil, and melted coconut oil will all work! Vanilla extract. Apple cider vinegar. Brown sugar. Make sure to use organic brown sugar to keep the recipe vegan. Non-organic sugars are often processed using animal bone char. Granulated sugar. This needs to be organic as well. Zucchini. Walnuts. Raisins. These can also be omitted if they’re not your thing.
Tip: Not a fan of raisins and/or walnuts? Leave them out or switch them up with other stir-ins! Other nuts like pecans would work great, and vegan chocolate chips would make a wonderful addition.
How It’s Made
The following is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you’d like to skip right to the recipe! Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Place the pan on a cooling rack and let it cool completely. Once it’s cool you can slather it with frosting — I highly recommend using my vegan cream cheese frosting! Or give it a sprinkle with powdered sugar, or serve it plain.
Leftovers & Storage
Vegan zucchini cake will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for one or two days, in the fridge for about five days, or in the freezer for about three months. It will stay fresh a bit longer if it’s been frosted than it will unfrosted, as the frosting helps seal in moisture.
More Vegan Zucchini Recipes
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