#2,672: Lemon-Zucchini Cake

My friend Heather claims she doesn't like zucchini, but sent me the link to this recipe as a suggestion to try.  I had a HUGE zucchini on my counter from our back neighbor, and all of the ingredients except the lemon zest (so I just omitted) so I figured I'd make it for her and her family.  Thankfully, I was smart enough to save a little bit of the batter and cooked some in a ramekin so I could try it too, but not give her a cake with a piece missing.  HA!  The original recipe said this is a denser cake and it was definitely correct.  Like this is HEAVY.  I think cooking it with olive oil gave it a slightly different taste (have you ever tried olive oil cake?!  It's different), so next time I'd probably try making this with vegetable oil or coconut oil instead, but it was still pretty good.  Different...but good.  It certainly wasn't healthy with all that sugar...and the glaze didn't add to the healthiness factor either.  LOL.  Ask and you shall receive...or in my case, use it as an excuse to avoid doing homework and play in the kitchen instead!  

1¼ cup granulated sugar

6 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 eggs, room temperature

⅓ cup vanilla almond milk

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp vanilla or almond extract

2 cups cake flour 

1¼ tsp baking powder

½ tsp kosher salt

1½ cup shredded zucchini, drained and squeezed dry

2 tbsp lemon zest (I omitted because I didn't have any lemons on hand)

Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar

1-2 tbsp lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350F.  Line a loaf pan with parchment paper. Set aside.

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl and whisk together. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the sugar and olive oil. Whisk to combine.  Add eggs and almond milk and whisk together.  Add lemon juice and vanilla extract and stir to combine.  Add flour mixture and stir just until incorporated.  Fold in zucchini and lemon zest.

Pour batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out with moist crumbs. The top of the cake should look dry.

Place the loaf on a cooling rack and cool for 15 minutes. Use the parchment paper to carefully lift the cake from the pan and remove. Let cool completely on rack.

In a small bowl, combine powdered sugar and lemon juice. Whisk until smooth.  Drizzle the glaze over the cake.