Zucchini Crumble Coffee Cake

Friends, hi hello!  I’m comin’ in hot with a perfect springtime brunch offering – a cinnamon coffee cake recipe with a zucchini twist.

But first let me address some of the concerns that might have popped up in the part of your brain that controls your sweet tooth.  That little bugger is saying OK BUT WWWHHHYYYY ruin my cake with vegetables!? And to be honest – fair question.  There is a small but mighty category of baked goods that insert vegetables into an otherwise sweet batter. Should we talk about this perfect Carrot Cake with all it’s sweet spice, fruit and root veggies?  Or perhaps these moist chocolate cupcakes with beets grated into the batter. Adding veggies to baked goods lends an earthy sweetness and moisture we can’t get from say… sour cream. They’re a sweet surprise and one of my baking secret weapons when I have a languishing, nearly wrinkled zucchini in the produce drawer.

Get in on this coffee cake with me! It’s sweet and spiced. We’re adding a dash of cardamom to keep the spices interesting and a toothy oat crumble baked across the top of the cake that will keep you coming back for slivers and slices.

Here’s how:

Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make this Zucchini Coffee Cake recipe:

•  all-purpose flour though this coffee cake also works well with a gluten-free flour blend like Cup4Cup.

•  ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg, and ground cardamom for warmth.

•  kosher salt, baking powder, and baking soda

•  unsalted butter, some melted some cubed

•  light brown sugar

•  a large egg

•  vanilla extract

•  zucchini shredded on a box grater

•  oats for the crumble topping

Optional ingredients include: pecans, walnuts, mini chocolate chips, etc.

First we’ll make the crumb topping. In a small bowl work together flour, brown sugar, spices, salt, and oats. Crumble in chunks of room temperature butter and work into a sandy mixture.

The streusel topping will coat the top of the coffee cake, creating a crunchy buttery topping. I mean… is it even coffee cake without a crumble?  Set aside (at room temeprature is just fine) until the cake batter is in the pan.

The coffee cake batter will come together rather easily. While you can use a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, a few bowls, a whisk, and a spatula will do the trick just fine (and save me from hoisting the mixer out of the prop closet).  However you decide to bring the batter together, whisk the dry ingredients together to incorporate the spices and leavening evenly.  Set the flour mixture aside.

Now let’s get out wet ingredients going for our coffee cake recipe.  In a medium bowl stir together melted butter, brown sugar, an egg, and vanilla extract.

The mixture will whisk to thick and glossy with a few bubbles on top.

Gran a few fresh green zucchini and grate them on the coarse side of a box grater.

Add an ample amount of that shredded zucchini to the wet mixture and stir to combine.  The zucchini will add moisture to this cake – not so much a vegetable flavor but moisture and depth.

Stir the dry ingredients into the zucchini mixture.  Combine with a rubber spatula and scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl until all the flour has disappeared and the batter is thick but pourable.

Grease and line a 9×9-inch square pan with parchment paper. Greasing the pan is totally sufficient on its own, but the parchment makes the whole cake easy to lift and remove from the pan after baking.

Sprinkle the batter with crumble topping and place in the oven to bake until the kitchen smells amazing.

You’ll know the cake is done baking when a toothpick inserted in the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs rather than wet batter.

See those green specks in the cake crumb? That’s all that’s left of all that shredded zucchini.  The crunch

Slice cooled cake into generous squares and serve any time of day with a hothot cup of coffee.  I store any leftover slices in an airtight container in the refrigerator and toast them in a 250 degree oven for a few minutes until just warmed through enough to split in half and top with butter.

These are the best days, friends!

Print