My grandmother’s recipe for a delicately flavored sheet cake made from freshly grated zucchini.
While browsing through my mom’s old recipe file recently, I came across a photocopy of a handwritten recipe for zucchini pies. The recipe is in the hands of my grandmother, my father’s mother.
She was the baker in the family (a title now passed to my father). When I was four, she moved from St. Paul to live with us in Los Angeles.
Grandma taught me to sew, knit, crochet and bake. She made cherry pie, angel pie, apricot jam and the best oatmeal raisin cookies. We fought for the right to lick the bowl of dough off the cake she’s baking.
When we moved to Sacramento, she mailed recipe snippets and notes to my mother. I think that’s how we ended up with this zucchini pie recipe.
It’s like zucchini bread, moist and a little crumbly, but in sheet cake form, with more egg and sugar and topped with cream cheese frosting. Great for summer potlucks!
Grandma’s zucchini pie
The amount of frosting assumes you leave the cake in the pan and only frost the top. If you plan on removing the cake from the pan and frosting the sides, consider increasing the frosting amounts.
ingredients
Cake:
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2 cups all purpose flour
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2 teaspoon Cinammon (can substitute 1 teaspoon with other spices like allspice and nutmeg but go easy on the cloves)
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2 teaspoon baking soda
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1 teaspoon Salt
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1/4 teaspoon baking powder
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3 big eggs
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2 cups sugar
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1 Cup vegetable oil
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1 teaspoon vanilla extract
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1 teaspoon Lemon peelOptional
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3 to 4 Middle zucchinigrated and strained with the moisture to equal 2 cups
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1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (my grandmother recommends black walnuts)
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1/2 Cup golden raisinsOptional
Glaze:
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3 ounces cream cheesesoftened to room temperature (Philadelphia cream cheese recommended)
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1/4 Cup unsalted butterroom temperature
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1 1/2 to 2 cups powdered sugar
method
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Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a 9×12 or 9×13 baking pan (I used a Pyrex pan).
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In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and baking powder. Put aside.
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Beat the 3 eggs in a mixer on high until fluffy. Reduce speed and beat in sugar, vegetable oil, vanilla, and lemon zest (if using). Mix in the flour mixture by a third. Stir in the zucchini and chopped nuts and/or raisins.
How To Convert A Stand Mixer Instructions To A Hand Mixer (And Vice Versa)CONTINUE READING:
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Pour the mixture into a 9×12 or 9×13 baking pan. Bake at 350°F for 40 to 45 minutes. (My grandmother’s notes say you can also bake in an Angel Food pan for 1 hour.) Remove from the oven and let cool completely before frosting. (While the cake is cooling, let the cream cheese and frosting butter sit at room temperature to soften.)
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For the frosting, beat the cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Add powdered sugar and stir smooth.
Frost the cake and serve. Store covered with aluminum foil.
Links:
Zucchini Cake with Crunchy Lemon Glaze by David Lebovitz
Spiced Zucchini Pie from My Baking Addiction
It’s so scary looking at my grandmother’s notes. She mentions that “black walnuts are good”. Black walnuts are pretty hard to find, but there was a black walnut tree on our block that she and I passed on our way to the grocery store. If there were nuts on the ground, she would collect them and we would crack them with a hammer when we got home.
The older she got, the more shaky her hand became. By her 90s she had the symptoms of Parkinson’s. There’s a recent note to my sister advising her to drain the zucchini, where her handwriting is noticeably shaky.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 355 | calories |
| 20g | Fat |
| 43g | carbohydrates |
| 4g | protein |
