Just about everyone I know who has a garden grows summer squash. Summer squash usually grows really well, so home gardeners often have an abundance of it—which is really nice if you have lots of good recipes to use it in, like zucchini bread, for example, or a yummy squash casserole! Here’s another really good squash recipe that I found in Farm-to-Table Desserts. If you’re a vegetable gardener or love to shop at your local farmer’s market, you’ll enjoy this cookbook that shows you how to make yummy treats with fresh, organic ingredients.
So I made this Summer Squash Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting and it was sooooo good! The original recipe calls for 2 cups of grated summer squash. I used 1 cup of grated zucchini and 1 cup of grated yellow squash, but you could use 2 cups of one or the other. If you use all zucchini, the cake will probably taste a lot like zucchini bread. I liked including some yellow squash because it adds a nice flavor to the cake. I’m sure it would be great if you used all yellow squash too. The cream cheese frosting is also really good—very creamy and rich! Here’s the recipe—hope you enjoy making the cake this summer!
Summer Squash Cake
SUMMER SQUASH CAKE from Farm-to-Table Desserts
Makes one 9″ or 10″ round cake
- 3 large eggs
- 2 cups grated summer squash (I used 1 cup zucchini and 1 cup yellow squash)
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil (I substituted light olive oil)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
- 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar (you can add a little more if you want a thicker frosting)
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, room temperature
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Make the cake:
Preheat oven to 350˚F. Grease a 9- or 10-inch round pan and set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk the eggs, squash, sugar, oil, and vanilla extract well. Add the remaining ingredients and mix until incorporated. Transfer to prepared pan and bake for 55 to 60 minutes, or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely. (Note: the batter fills up a 9″ round pan pretty much up to the top, so I placed my round pan on a baking sheet before putting it in the oven, just in case the round pan overflowed while baking—but it didn’t!)
Make the Cream Cheese Frosting:
Sift the powdered sugar and set aside. In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla on medium speed until well blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix for 30 seconds to ensure no lumps remain. Add the powdered sugar all at once and mix on low speed until sugar is just incorporated. Scrape bowl well and beat on high speed for 10 seconds.
Remove cooled cake from pan (you may need to loosen the edges with a knife) and place onto a serving platter. Cut the rounded cake top off, if desired (I kept it on). Spread cream cheese frosting on top in a decorative design (you’ll have plenty of frosting to top the cake–you may even have a little left over). Store cake in refrigerator.
Recipe from NancyC | nancy-c.com
If you’re trying to cut back on calories, you could leave the cake unfrosted or just put a very light amount of frosting on top–or a thin glaze. So keep this in mind if you have lots of summer squash to use! Do you grow your own summer squash or buy it at a farmer’s market?
Sharing at Weekend Potluck, Grace at Home, Thursday Favorite Things, Full Plate Thursday, Wonderful Wednesday, Hearth & Soul, Inspire Me Monday.
NancyC 
I liked that you used both green and yellow squash in the cake, I must give that a try.
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Yes, I like using both-I think they give the cake a nice flavor!
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Beautiful cake, I’ve never used yellow squash for baking lives this!! The book is beautiful as well and the recipes must be amazing.
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Yum!
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A frosty slice of this tasty cake would be great on a hot day like this in Zagreb 🙂
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Sounds delicious. I never heard of summer squash cake. All of your posts looks so good! Great blog.
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That’s so nice of you to say–thanks so much! 🙂
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I want to try this one!! It looks so delish!
Greetings from the beautiful Rhine Highlands in Germany…
Rosie
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Thanks, Rosie–hope you like it! 🙂
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Can’t wait to try this. My daughter is going to make for our fourth of July get together. She’s going to use fresh vegetables out of our garden!
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That sounds great, Debbie! Hope you all have a great 4th of July! 🙂
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OOh! I love summer squash but have never tried making a cake with it. I’ll have to try this the next time we have some lying around. Pinned.
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It’s a great way to use that summer squash! 🙂
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I just know this has to be absolutely moist and delicious!! Nancy, your photos are lovely!! They make me want this all the more!!
Thanks for sharing at Fiesta Friday!
Mollie
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Thanks so much! 🙂 Yes, it’s definitely a yummy, moist cake! 🙂
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Congratulations, your awesome post is featured on our Top Ten Features this week at Full Plate Thursday! Thanks so much for sharing with us and hope you will come back soon!
Miz Helen
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Thanks so much for the feature, Miz Helen! 🙂
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Oh, sounds delicious! I can’t wait to try it! Do you cook the squash or grate it raw? Thanks for sharing!
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No need to cook the squash—just grate it!
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