Category: cakes

Lemon Lavender Zucchini Bread

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Yield: 2 Loaves

I grow lots of zucchini and culinary lavender in the garden. A little tired of traditional zucchini recipes and not really in the mood for chocolate, I decided to try one of my favorite flavor combinations and craft it into a “not too sweet” zucchini bread. The results are good enough to share. This is not as sweet as you would think. Not just a breakfast bread, or snack with tea, this little loaf serves well with a dollop of whip cream or scoop of vanilla bean ice cream as a late summer dessert.

Lavender Lemon Zucchini Bread

Lavender and lemon zucchini quick bread with a lemony glaze
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 2 Loaves

Equipment

  • 2 – 9 X 5 inch loaf pans
  • Hand Mixer or Stand Mixer
  • Mixing bowls
  • Cake tester or toothpick
  • Zesting tool or microplane grater

Ingredients
  

Wet Loaf Ingredients

  • 4 large Eggs
  • 1 cup Olive Oil, extra virgin good quality
  • 1 1/2 cups Sugar
  • 3/4 cup Sour Cream
  • 1/4 cup Milk, 2% or Whole
  • 2 tsp Lemon zest, fresh
  • 1/4 cup Lemon juice, fresh-squeezed
  • 2 cuos Zucchini, shredded

Dry Loaf Ingredients

  • 4 cups Cake Flour
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 4 tsp Baking Powder
  • 4 tsp Lavender Buds Culinary

Glaze

  • 1 cup Confectioners Sugar
  • 1 tbsp Lemon Juice, fresh-squeezed
  • 2 tbsp Lemon Zest, fresh
  • t tbsp Milk, 2% or Whole
  • 2-4 stems Culinary lavendar, fresh cut optional for garnish

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
  • Grease and flour two 9 X 5 inch loaf pans, or coat with baking spray.
  • In a large bowl, beat eggs, then add the oil and sugar until well blended and oil is fully incorporated. Add the sourcream, milk, zucchini, lemon zest and juice and mix well.
  • Add the flour, salt and baking powder to the batter and mix well to combine.
  • Stir in lavender buds.
  • Divide the batter between the two prepared loaf pans.
  • Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes until a cake tester or toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
  • During last 15 minutes of cooking, prepare the glaze by mixing all ingredients in a small mixing bowl.
  • While still warm, remove bread from loaf pans to a cooling rack placed over a piece of parchment paper or a cookie sheet and drizzle with the glaze. The paper or cookie sheet will catch the drips and make clean up easier.
  • If desired, garnish the loaves with fresh cut culinary lavender flowers.
  • Allow the bread to cool and the glaze to set before cutting.

Notes

NOTE:  If batter seems to wet after initial mixing, or if you live in a higher elevation, mix in 1/4 cup all purpose flour to the batter before pouring into loaf pans.  
Keyword cake, lavender, lemon, quick bread, zucchini

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cake Roll

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One of my favorite fall recipes! This is actually classified as a “sponge cake” as it gets its “lift” from the eggs and baking soda. It sounds more complicated than it is, and only takes 15 minutes of oven time.

Pictures will follow and I will update this post when I make this cake over the holidays, but a a very dear young lady, who made this cake with me once requested the recipe, and I have not yet taken pictures.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cake Roll

Rolled pumpkin sponge cake with cream cheese filling
Print Recipe
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 1 Cake Roll

Equipment

  • Jelly Roll Pan 15" X 10" – if using a slightly larger pan, cake will be thinner and you must reduce cooking time.
  • Waxed Paper
  • Hand Mixer or Stand Mixer
  • Large Mixing Bowl or bowl of stand mixer
  • Medium Mixing Bowl, or bowl of stand mixer
  • Clean dish towel for rolling cake

Ingredients
  

Pumpkin Cake

  • 1 tbsp Shortening For greasing pan, may substitue baking spray
  • 1 tbsp All Purpose Flour For dusting pan, may substitute baking spray
  • 3 Large Eggs
  • 1 cup Sugar
  • 2/3 cup Cooked Pumpkin
  • 1 tsp Lemon Juice
  • 3/4 cup Flour
  • 1 tsp Baking Powder
  • 2 tsp Cinnamon
  • 1/2 tso Salt
  • 3/4 cup Pecans, finely chopped Optional
  • 2 tbsp Powdered Sugar For dusting dish towel after baking

Cream Cheese Filling

  • 1 cup Powdered Sugar
  • 8 oz Cream Cheese, softened
  • 4 tbsp Butter, softened
  • 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 1 tsp Milk optional, use only if needed
  • 2 tbsp Powdered Sugar For dusting before serving

Instructions
 

Pumpkin Cake Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees
  • Line jelly roll pan with waxed paper. Grease the wax paper and pan edges with shortening or spray with baking spray.
  • Dry ingredients: Sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
  • In a large mixing bowl, beat the 3 eggs on high speed for 3 minutes.
  • Add sugar and beat on medium speed until fully incorporated.
  • Add cooked pumpkin and lemon juice and mix in on low speed until completely blended into the eggs and sugar.
  • Add dry ingredients into wet and mix in on low speed.
  • Spread cake mixture into prepared jelly roll pan. Make sure batter is evenly distributed in the pan.
  • Top with chopped pecans if using.
  • Place pan in oven and bake for 15 minutes.
  • Invert pan onto a clean dish towel sprinkled with powdered sugar. This step is crucial. Do it right when you take the cake from the oven and immediately proceed to the next step for best results.
  • Leave wax paper in place and gently roll the cake up in the towel carefully starting with the short side of the cake. Allow the cake to cool completely in the rolled towel so when it is time to add the filling it is already comfortable with the rolled up shape.

Cream Cheese Filling

  • While cake is cooling, place powdered sugar, softened cream cheese, softened butter and vanilla in the bowl of the stand mixer or medium bowl if using hand mixer. Blend on medium speed until all ingredients are incorporated and a smooth and spreadable consistency. If too thick add a teaspoon or two of milke (one at a time )to achieve desired spreading consistency.

Assembly

  • Unroll cake and remove wax paper.
  • Spread cream cheese filling across the cake carefully in an even layer, going to the edges of the roll.
  • Using clean hands, re-roll the cake on top of the towel (do not roll up in the towel again). Transfer finished roll to a cutting board and trim off edges of roll.
  • Wrap roll tightly in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator until serving.
  • To serve, remove plastic wrap, and dust with additional powdered sugar. Slice into 2-3 inch slices for individual servings.
Keyword cake, Cream cheese, Pumpkin, roll

Chocolate Zucchini Bread with Cream Cheese Filling

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Yield: Two loaves

Who knew that vegetables could be so subtly sweet, very moist, and pair well with coffee, tea and ice cream? This quick bread is a double hit of chocolate with a hint of orange and a sweetened cream cheese filling. It’s a great way to use up that extra zucchini that seems to be sprouting out of my garden right now.

Serve at room temperature, reheated or even chilled. This bread is more like cake and suitable for breakfast, coffee breaks, and a quick dessert. Imagine it ala mode…sigh.

  • Coming out of the oven
  • Slice of heaven

Chocolate Zucchini Bread with Cream Cheese Filling

Chocolate Zucchini quick bread with a subtle orange vanilla cream cheese filling
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 2 Loaves

Equipment

  • 2 each 9 X 5 loaf pans (1.5 quart)
  • Mixing bowls
  • Citrus Zester or Microplane Grater
  • Hand Mixer or Stand Mixer
  • Mixing bowls
  • Whisk
  • Cake tester or toothpick

Ingredients
  

Cream Cheese Filling

  • 8 oz. Cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup Sugar
  • 2 tsp Orange zest
  • 3 tbsp All-Purpose Flour
  • 2 large Eggs

Chocolate Batter Dry Ingredients

  • 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
  • 6 tbsp Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
  • 1 cup Sugar
  • 1/4 cup Brown Sugar, packed

Chocolate Batter Wet Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup Oil
  • 3 large Eggs
  • 2 tsp Vanilla Extract
  • 1/2 cup Sour Cream
  • 3 cups Zucchini, shredded
  • 1 zest Zest of 1 whole Orange

Add In

  • 3/4 cup Mini Chocolate Chips

Instructions
 

  • Grease and flour two loaf pans
  • Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  • Make Cream Cheese Filling: Beat cream cheese in a small bowl until smooth and creamy. Beat in sugar, orange zest and flour until smooth. Add egg and beat until thoroughly mixed. Set aside.
  • Make chocolate batter: Whisk together dry ingredients in a medium bowl. In a large mixing bowl, beat oil, sugars, eggs and vanilla until creamy. Stir in sour cream, zucchini and orange zest. Add dry ingredients and mini chocolate chips. Stir just til moistened, being careful not to over beat.
  • Spread 1/4 of the batter in the bottom of each prepared pan.
  • Add 1/2 of the cream cheese mixture on top of chocolate batter in each pan.
  • Divide remaining chocolate batter pour over the cream cheese mixture in each pan. The cream cheese mixture should be mostly covered with the top layer of chocolate batter.
  • Bake the loaves at 325 degrees for 60-80 minutes. Check after 60 minutes because oven temperatures and loaf pan sizes and materials can vary.
  • When the bread is done, a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center of the loaf, in the chocolate will come out clean. Cool in the pans for about 10 minutes before removing to cooling racks to finish cooling.
Keyword cake, chocolate, Cream cheese, orange, quick bread, vanilla, zucchini