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Orange Cranberry Zucchini Cake

8/3/2017

17 Comments

 
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​I am back in the Okanagan and enjoying all the fresh produce. My parents neighbors have an amazing garden and let us pick some things today, my mother went and picked a massive zucchini the other day as well. As I was staring at this giant zucchini I got an idea for a cake.

If you go on Pinterest you will find almost all zucchini recipes that are sweet, are either brownies, chocolate cake or spice cake. Which I love all of those, but I wanted something a bit different in flavor, I guess something more tangy is what I was looking for. That is when I thought why not put fresh cranberries and oranges into a cake with zucchini, the end result ended up being this moist beauty.

Orange Cranberry Zucchini Cake

Ingredients:

​2 cups of all purpose flour
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
3/4 cup of white sugar
​3/4 brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup of melted butter
1/2 cup of applesauce
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
1/3 cup of sour cream
​2 cups of shredded fresh zucchini
​1 cup of fresh cranberries
​zest and juice from one large orange
 
Directions:

​
​Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and line two round 8 inch cake pans with butter and parchment paper.

​In a bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.

​In a large bowl cream together the sugars, orange zest and melted butter. Add the applesauce and orange juice, then mix in the eggs. Mix in the vanilla and sour cream.

​Mix in the zucchini and cranberries into the wet ingredients. Take the dry ingredients and fold it into the wet until just combined. Separate the batter into the two prepare pans equally.

​Bake for 30 minutes, or until tops are golden brown and when a toothpick is inserted comes out clean.

​Remove the cakes from the oven and allow them to cool completely before icing.

​Directions for icing and decorating the cake:

​Make the cream cheese icing by creaming together 1 - 8 ounce block of cream cheese, softened, and 6 tablespoons of butter. Add 3 cups of icing sugar and orange zest from one large orange. Cream all the ingredients together until nice and smooth.

​Remove the cakes from the pans, take the parchment paper off the bottoms. place one cake on a cake stand and add about 1/3 of the icing to it, place the next piece of cake on top. Add the rest of the icing to the top and start working it towards the edges and with a flat metal spatula smear the icing all around the sides.

If you want to add a few embellishments to the cake, add a few frozen cranberries, skinny strips of orange peels and also a few thin slices of freshly cut oranges. 

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​As you can tell it is a bit warm here in Kelowna, it was around 37 Celsius today which is close to 100 Fahrenheit. So my poor icing was a bit warm, but I went with it and I actually loved how it is oozing from the cake.

​I loved the tangy zip from the fresh cranberries and orange zest, it just added a nice flavor that you don't find as often in zucchini cakes. 

Happy Baking!!
​  
Orange Cranberry Zucchini Cake
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Yum
17 Comments
Marie-Pierre Breton link
8/4/2017 08:41:27 am

I love veggie sweet cakes! I'm all about a good carrot cake and never tried yet the zucchini one... although I live in "Zucchini land" (Spain)... need to fix that with the help of this succulent recipe! Yum!

Reply
Gabrielle @ eyecandypopper link
8/4/2017 08:51:45 am

That cake sounds delicious! I love the addition of zucchini in cakes, it makes it so moist and not to mention healthier too ;) Nicely done!

Reply
Prairie Winds Life
8/8/2017 01:44:45 pm

It is such a great way to get my kids to eat a few more veggies!

Reply
Jessica link
8/4/2017 11:18:24 am

Two of my fav flavours together, cranberry and orange! I love the addition of zucchini and you totally had me at cream cheese icing - another favourite. I have some frozen cranberries just waiting to be baked into this lovely cake!

Reply
Prairie Winds Life
8/8/2017 01:46:32 pm

Whenever I see cream cheese in a recipe I am like "SOLD" so I am glad to see another cream cheese lover!

Reply
Lizzie
8/4/2017 11:20:40 am

Always need new ideas for using all the zucchinis that end up in my kitchen at the end of summer. That icing also looks fantastic ;)

Reply
Prairie Winds Life
8/8/2017 01:47:31 pm

Thank you! I just wanted something different to use it up and I am glad I put this together :)

Reply
Sean@Diversivore link
8/4/2017 02:32:58 pm

I've eaten plenty of zucchini cakes over the years, but I haven't actually made one myself yet. I think I've found them a little underwhelming at times, but that has a lot to do with the other flavours that are brought into play. To that end, I think you've really hit the nail on the head with the combination of cranberry and orange. They're so good together, and the way the cranberries are bringing all that glorious colour, moisture, and flavour into the cake are fantastic! It's wonderfully done, and a great recipe - especially for using up abundant zucchini!

Reply
Prairie Winds Life
8/8/2017 01:48:50 pm

Thank you Sean, I agree about zucchini cakes to be a bit "meh" at times. I have had my fair share of them and wanted to revamp the traditional version.

Reply
Vicky Chin link
8/4/2017 04:32:45 pm

Lovely cake ! I have baked with zucchini before but only in a chocolate cake. Orange cranberry sounds like an excellent idea ! I like how the icing is oozing too ! Thanks for sharing !

Reply
Praire Winds Life
8/8/2017 01:50:08 pm

Thank you!!! The oozing part ending up being my favorite thing about the pictures. I just think the orange and cranberries brightened up the cake :)

Reply
Charlotte link
8/8/2017 08:42:51 am

I love baking with zucchini but you are right - so many of the recipes I find are sweet! I'm excited to try this tangy alternative :)

Reply
Prairie Winds Life
8/8/2017 01:51:09 pm

This still is a bit sweet but not crazy sweet, the tang just gives it a little something extra!

Reply
Justine link
8/8/2017 10:16:26 am

What an interested combination of ingredients! Looks like a beautiful (and delicious) recipe.

Reply
Prairie Winds Life
8/8/2017 01:51:44 pm

Thank you! It was super delicious and didn't last very long!

Reply
steph parrell link
10/20/2017 07:07:32 am

Hi there! I am having a blog party next weekend! I would love if you could come and share some of your awesome blog post with my community :) http://scaleitsimple.com/2017/10/20/your-invite-fall-feelings-blog-party/

Hope to see you there! xo

Reply
Prairie Winds Life
10/20/2017 08:46:31 am

Thank you for the invite! It sounds fun, I will mark it down on my calendar!

Reply



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    I am just a BC girl living in a Alberta world on a cattle ranch nestled near Kananaskis country.
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