Estimated reading time: 8 minutes

Prepare for this fantastic, moist carrot zucchini cake with a fluffy, thick layer of cream cheese frosting.

I’m not joking when I tell you that this carrot zucchini cake only lasted two days in our house.

Do I have any secrets for making my carrot zucchini cake SO moist?

You bet two of them, and I’ll tell you what I did to get the praise.

Too Much Zucchini

This summer, we first decided to grow zucchini in our backyard.

The idea was to pick the orange blossoms to make Italian zucchini fritters.

However, we got so much zucchini that I grated and froze it in freezer bags.

We didn’t eat the entire carrot zucchini cake alone, but I probably could have.

When I tasted my carrot zucchini cake with homemade fluffy cream cheese frosting, I wanted to hide in the garage with a fork.

Our neighbours received a few pieces, as did a family we had over for the weekend.

I laughed every time they got up to sneak another piece as if I couldn’t hear the tinfoil crinkle.

Inside, I was proud of myself because it was the best cake I’d ever made, as I don’t make them often.

Grated Zucchini and Carrots

The stars of this cake are the fresh green zucchini and crunchy carrots, both grated.

It doesn’t retain as much water if you use the smaller organic zucchini.

I also kept the zucchini juice as I wanted to keep the moisture in the cake.

If you do use a zucchini with more than a half-cup of water, it’s too much.

Mine had 1/4 cup of juice when I squeezed it to measure for this recipe.

Flour Combination Carrot Zucchini Cake

I used two types of flour for this recipe because I ran out of all-purpose.

You can use all-purpose flour or mix it with gluten-free flour.

If you don’t have gluten-free, use all-purpose flour.

The same goes for the apple juice; use apple sauce instead.

How To Make Cream Cheese Frosting

I’ve made cream cheese frosting before but used a CBB fan’s recipe.

During my What’s For Dinner chat, I asked my Facebook fans what to top this cake with.

After lots of feedback, I went with cream cheese frosting and followed her simple recipe, which turned out perfect.

The only deviation was that I omitted the lemon and increased the vanilla amount.

I made sure to give it a two-minute whipping time to add air and to cream the frosting.

• 1x 8oz brick of softened cream cheese
• 3 cups of confectioner sugar (icing sugar)
• 6 tablespoons of butter
• One tablespoon of pure vanilla extract

How To Make Carrot Zucchini Cake

The cream cheese frosting with chopped walnuts is the perfect topping for this cake recipe.

Alternative ideas to top the carrot zucchini cake:

• Vanilla Icing
• Plain without any topping
• No nuts, just cream cheese frosting
• Buttercream frosting
• Lemon cream cheese frosting (add 2 tsp of lemon juice to the frosting recipe)
• Instead of walnuts, use pecans.

Carrot Zucchini Cake With Cream Cheese Frosting

Printable recipe below.

You won’t regret making this delicious carrot zucchini cake with a thick layer of homemade cream cheese frosting and chopped walnuts.

• PREP TIME20 minutes
• COOK TIME1 hour 5 minutes
• TOTAL TIME1 hour 25 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups gluten-free flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 cups shredded carrots
• 2 cups grated zucchini + 1/4 cup zucchini juice (water)
• 3/4 cup pure apple juice, not from concentrate, and no added sugar
• 2 tablespoons Greek Yogurt No Sugar 0%
• 3 large eggs
• Cream Cheese Frosting
• 1 8oz brick of softened cream cheese
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 3 cups confectioners sugar (icing sugar)
• 6 tablespoons softened butter
• Walnuts for topping (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
2. Butter or spray a 9x13x2 cake pan with cooking spray and line it with parchment paper.
3. Wash and peel carrots, then grate with a box grater.
4. Please do the same with the zucchini, but do not peel them. Squeeze the juice into a cup and only save 1/4 cup to include in the batter.
5. In a large bowl, add the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and cinnamon.
6. Add the granulated sugar, brown sugar, eggs, Greek yogurt, pure vanilla extract, canola oil, zucchini water, and apple juice in a second large bowl. Mix for one minute.
7. Dump the grated carrots and zucchini and mix again just until combined.
8. Put the dry ingredients into the wet using a spatula and mix until combined.
9. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for 30 minutes.
10. Open the oven and gently lay a sheet of tin foil over the cake’s top.
11. Continue baking for another—35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
12. Let the cake cool completely before frosting; otherwise, it will melt.
13. While the cake is baking, make the cream cheese frosting.
14. Put the softened cream cheese and butter in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer and mix until combined, about 30 seconds.
15. Add the pure vanilla extract and the confectioner’s sugar and mix for another 1 1/2 minutes.
16. Store in the refrigerator until you’re ready to frost the cake.
17. Add the frosting once the cake is cooled and spread a thick, even layer.
18. Sprinkle chopped walnuts over the top (optional).

Additional Notes

• Tent the cake with tinfoil so it doesn’t burn, get too dark or dry the cake.
• Add 1/2 cup of raisins to the cake.
• Use any of the topping ideas in my blog post.
• Slice into 24 pieces or less, depending on how big you want them.
• Store in the refrigerator for up to one week.
• Freeze in an air-tight container for up to 5 months.

Continue to Content

Warm Spiced Apple Pear Sauce

Yield: 4 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes

Create a comforting Autumn or Christmas dessert with spiced apple-pear sauce. Fill your home with the sweet scents of the season.

Print

Ingredients

• 5 cinnamon sticks
• 1 tablespoon fresh ground cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• pinch of salt
• 4 basil leaves
• 1/2 cup water
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 2 Bosc pears
• 2 Royal Gala apples

Instructions

1. Serve at room temperature after refrigerating or warm in a microwave.
2. Peel and chop the apples and pears into small chunks on a cutting board.
3. Add the pears and apples to the pot.
4. Add the water, lemon juice, salt, cinnamon sticks, and sugar and mix gently.
5. Let come to a boil on temp dial 4 or 5, then reduce to 2 or low.
6. Add your basil leaves on top and cover for 15 minutes.
7. Remove the basil leaves and cinnamon sticks.
8. Stir gently.
9. Serve chunky or whiz it up with a hand blender until smooth.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Instagram

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