Grandma's Zucchini Cake

By shygirl

THE FROSTING AMOUNT ASSUMES THAT YOU ARE GOING TO KEEP THE CAKE IN THE PAN AND ONLY FROST THE TOP. IF YOU PLAN ON REMOVING THE CAKE FROM THE PAN AND FROST THE SIDES, YOU'LL WANT TO UP THE FROSTING AMOUNTS.

Ingredients

• Frosting:
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp. cinnamon (can sub 1 tsp. with other spices such as allspice and nutmeg, go easy on the cloves though)
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups white granulated sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. grated lemon zest (optional my addition)
• 2 cups (from about 3-4 regular sized zucchini) grated un-peeled zucchini (place grated zucchini in a sieve and press out some of the excess moisture before measuring)
• 1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (my grandmother recommends black walnuts)
• 1/2 cup golden raisins
• 3 oz. cream cheese, softened to room temperature (Philadelphia cream cheese recommended)
• 1/4 cup butter, room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 350 deg. Butter a 9 X 12 or 9 X 13 baking pan (I used a Pyrex pan).
In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and baking powder. Set aside

In a mixer, beat the eggs on high speed until frothy. Lower the speed and beat in the sugar, vegetable oil,vanilla, and lemon zest. Sir in the flour mixture, a third at a time. Stir in the zucchini and chopped nuts and/or raisins.

Pour mixture into a 9 x 12 or 9 x 13 baking pan. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes. (My grandmothers notes say you can also bake in an angel food pan for 1 hour.) Remove from oven and let cool completely before frosting. (While the cake is cooling, let the frosting's cream cheese and butter sit at room temperature to soften.
To make the frosting:
Beat together the cream cheese and butter. Add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Frost the cake and serve.