zucchini cake with cashew-coconut frosting

I clearly remember the first time I decorated a cake.  It was in graduate school and one of our friends in the lab was getting married.  The wedding was going to be a small and simple affair and being students with limited means, the rest of us decided that we would bake her a three-tiered wedding cake as a wedding present.  Kind of foolhardy in hindsight, given that our combined experience with cake-decorating was zero!

Thankfully the practical one in the group reminded us of our utter lack of skills and we ended up enrolling in a cake decorating class in the mall.  So over four weeks, we entered the world of buttercream frostings, decorating tips, food colors and piping roses and long story short, the cakes ended up looking lovely.  Not tiered, but arranged beautifully on the table and decorated with the prettiest piped purple pansies.  We did good 🙂  And those classes came in very handy later, especially after our son was born and I made these really elaborate cakes – Big Bird, Thomas the Tank Engine, Teddy Bears, Flower Baskets, a Candy truck complete with clowns and all kinds of candy…….ones that still bring a smile to my face when I look at old pictures.

Over the years, that combination of butter, powdered sugar and shortening just wasn’t exciting anymore.  Our tastes…especially mine, became simpler with less sugar, more unrefined sweeteners and overall, less sweet.  And carrot cake climbed to the top spot as our celebration cake.  This year, I started a small vegetable patch in the garden and looking at the zucchini, I thought of swapping the carrots with zucchini.  And since it was a birthday cake made with zucchini I had lovingly grown in the garden, I had to make it look special 🙂

This ended up being one of the best cakes I have ever made.  With both the husband and the teen giving it a huge thumbs-up.  And at the cost of sounding boastful, I have to agree.  With a hint of spices, the fragrance of the fiori di sicilia and the addition of semi-sweet chocolate chips….it is really…like really, really delicious.

The cake itself is dense yet tender and has a very nice crumb.  I am not sure why I decided to make this cake vegan, but I did and used chia seeds instead of eggs.  You can certainly use eggs and I will mention the amount in the recipe.  And the frosting was such a wonderful complement to the cake.  Cashews, coconut milk and maple combined to give a really creamy, spatula-licking mixture with nuanced flavors.

Both the vegan and the version with eggs are delicious.  It was the first time I tried using chia seeds as an egg replacer and I must say that it works very well.  However, the vegan version tends to get a bit crumbly by the fourth day although I am pretty sure it won’t last that long 🙂

Makes a 4-layer 6 inch cake

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup almond meal/flour

1/2 tsp mixed spices (I used quatre epices but pumpkin pie spice or garam masala works too)

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 cup maple syrup

1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil

3 tbsp chia seeds in 9 tbsp water (or 3 eggs)

2 cups shredded zucchini

1/2 tsp fiori di sicilia or 2 tsp grated lemon zest

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels

Frosting: (adapted from this recipe)

3/4 cup raw cashews, soaked overnight

1/4 cup thick coconut milk or coconut cream

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 tbsp coconut oil

zucchini

raw sugar

For the cake:

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F.

Grease two 6-inch round cake or springform pans and line the bottom with parchment paper.

Add the maple syrup, chia seeds, fiori de sicilia or lemon zest, vanilla and apple cider vinegar to a bowl and mix well until it looks uniform.  Squeeze the water from the shredded zucchini and add to the liquid ingredients.  You can use the water in a soup or smoothie.

Mix the flours, salt, baking powder baking soda and spices in a larger bowl.  Make a well in the center and pour the liquid ingredients.

Stir until just mixed and add the chocolate chips in the last few turns.  Divide into the two pans, smooth the top and bake at 350 degrees F for approx 40 mins, until it is golden brown on top and a skewer inserted in comes out clean.

Let it rest in pan for about 10 mins and then transfer onto wire rack to cool completely.

Frosting:

Blend the cashews, coconut milk, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, vanilla and coconut oil in a blender or nutribullet.  It will look very soupy but will thicken upon cooling.

Chill for a couple of hours until it thickens to a consistency shown in the picture above.

Flowers:

Slice the zucchini very thin horizontally using a mandoline (You should almost be able to see your fingers through it)  Place about 5-6 slices next to each other in a bit of an offset way.

Start rolling them up and then cut in half horizontally.  Place in an ovensafe dish and sprinkle with raw sugar.

Broil under high setting for four minutes.

To assemble:

Split each cake horizontally and spread 3 tbsp of the thickened frosting on the bottom layer.  Place another layer on top and spread another 3 tbsp of frosting.  Repeat with the third layer.  Spread the rest of the frosting as a thick layer on top and spread thinly around the sides.

Refrigerate overnight until the frosting sets.

Decorate with the zucchini flowers.

**
– Make sure you squeeze out as much of the liquid as possible from the zucchini to avoid the the cake getting too dense.

– The frosting will turn soft if left at room temperature for too long.  It is somewhere between firm and sort of a thick paste.  If you want a very firm consistency, follow the original recipe given in the link above.

– I wanted a very thin layer of frosting between the layers.  If you want it to be more substantial, double the frosting recipe and add 6 tbsp of frosting between the layers.

-The overnight rest in the refrigerator really helps with both the flavor and to set the frosting well.