Amazing White Zucchini Cake with Broiled Caramel-Nut Frosting

A long-time family favorite, this recipe makes the most amazing zucchini cake with an incredibly moist texture. When frosted with a super easy & quick broiled, caramel-nut topping, it takes it to a whole other level. I’m not kidding when I say that every time we eat this, we ooh and aah over how good it is – still!

There’s a fun story behind this truly amazing white zucchini cake with a caramelly-nutty – and super easy – broiled frosting:

It happened at my mother-in-law’s house a couple years ago when we were celebrating Brian’s birthday.

Now, my mother-in-law is a beautiful hostess and has taught me many things about hospitality (including using the “good” dishes all the time, serving whatever you have, and including all ages at the table with those good dishes, because entertaining is about the people and making them feel special), so it’s always a treat to go to her house and sit around her table. And the food is always good – and plentiful.

But I have to admit that on this night when I saw that the birthday cake was a “plain” cake (i.e., not chocolate), I was a little disappointed. I watched her mix together a simple topping to create an old-fashioned broiled frosting that I had never seen before. I was intrigued and curious.

But…it wasn’t chocolate.

We sang the birthday song, the candles were blown out and I asked for just a little piece, please (it’s so easy to eat less dessert when you don’t think you’re going to like it, isn’t it?).

I took a bite. Oh my…what was in this cake?

Another bite. Oh yes.

Moist perfection, caramelly topping, nuts…what on earth was this? When I actually said this out loud, Brian’s mom said there was a “secret” ingredient. Mayonnaise? No. Since it was the time of year we were trying to use up garden produce, I guessed zucchini, to which she smiled and said yes.

It was hard to believe – we couldn’t see it, couldn’t feel it.

By this time the whole family was trying to find the zucchini in the cake. How could it be invisible? And then she shared the secret to the “secret” ingredient: the zucchini was peeled and some of the juice pressed out in a colander. But honestly, the texture wasn’t anything I had experienced in my other baked zucchini recipes.

And we all had a second piece.

White Zucchini Cake

I wrote down the recipe before we left that night because I learned that there sometimes is more to life than chocolate.

Now I never let zucchini season go by without making this at least once (or more…). I’ve learned that it the cake layers freeze perfectly and stay moist – I’ve served it months (one time a year!) later with no one believing it had been frozen so long.

As if I needed another reason to like this cake.

Have I convinced you? Beg, borrow or buy zucchini and make this – you will thank me!

Click the arrow for the full white zucchini cake recipe (with print options)!

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