Lime-Lemon Zucchini Cake

This zucchini cake is summery fresh, bright and packs a sour punch! If you love limes and lemons you’ll love this 2 layered cake.

Whenever I dive into a recipe that requires an ingredient that seems different or unusual I think of my Grandma. She was always so adventurous in the kitchen and seemed to have no limits when it came to trying something new. Summertime always reminds me of her the most. It was her favourite time of year with her gardens in full bloom, spending half her days digging in the dirt and the other half baking and cooking for the family.

When I started developing this recipe my thoughts came flooding back to her. On many occasions in the summer, I can remember my grandma making all sorts of zucchini bread and cakes using fresh zucchinis from her garden. She’d never tell us kids that the cake was made with zucchini until after when we all gobbled it up. As a kid, zucchini in a cake was the strangest thing around!! Now, I think it’s as normal as can be!

This particular zucchini cake is inspired by my grandma. I got a little creative (like her) and used Lighthouse Lime-Lemonade in the cake to give a summery fresh – sour pucker of flavour! I’m super pleased with how it came out and one of the best parts is the cake is on the heathier side (okay don’t get me wrong, healthy for a cake guys)! Lighthouse Lime-Lemonade is made with all fresh and natural ingredients which means, no additives or preservatives so you know what you’re adding to your recipes (and it’s made locally, right here in Canada!).

This cake is even more fitting as my grandpa would always make jugs of lemonade and ice tea all summer long! Now I’ve combined the two together! Just the other day I went home to my parent’s house and what did I find in their fridge? A bottle of Lighthouse Lemonade and a jug of homemade ice tea!! It’s funny how much we are influenced by our upbringing and the people closest to us.

What I like about this concentrate other than the fact that it tastes delicious and is only made with 6 ingredients, is this lemonade has a long history dating back to the 1800’s. This lemonade recipe has been passed down through generations and is symbolized by the Cape Jourimain lighthouse. The bottle is glass, like a message in a bottle and there is so much care that goes into making this fresh lemonade. It reminds me of the importance of what we pass down to other generations and the memories we share together. Like my grandparents and the moments and lessons they shared with me and my family.

I wonder what my grandma would think of my baking and my green thumb now?!

Thank you to Lighthouse Lemonade for sponsoring this post and supporting me in doing what I love – making recipes for all of you with the best ingredients possible! All opinions are my own.

Lime-Lemon Zucchini Cake

Print Recipe

This zucchini cake is summery fresh, bright and packs a sour punch! If you love limes and lemons you’ll love this 2 layered cake. 

• Author: Alie Romano
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 25 mins
• Total Time: 40 mins
• Yield: 1- 8" inch cake 1x
• Category: Dessert
• Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 3 large eggs
• Rind of 2 limes
• Rind of 1 lemon
• 3/4 cup Lighthouse Lemonade Lime-Lemon Concentrate
• 2 cups grated zucchini (approx. 2 large zucchinis)
• Icing
• 4 cups sifted icing sugar
• 4 1/2 teaspoons Lighthouse Lemonade Lime-Lemon Concentrate
• 4 Tablespoons warm water (approx. may need to add a few more teaspoons)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F. Grease and line with parchment paper 2 – 8” cake pans. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
3. In a separate bowl whisk sugar with vegetable oil until well incorporated. Add eggs, lime and lemon rind, and lime-lemon concentrate, mix well.
4. Combine dry ingredients in two batches to wet ingredients, mix just until combined. Fold in grated zucchini (do not over mix).
5. Divide and pour the batter into the cake pans.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.
7. Let cool on cooling racks.
8. Meanwhile, make your icing. In a bowl add icing sugar and lime-lemon concentrate together. Slowly 1 tablespoon at a time, add your warm water and mix until you reach the consistency that you like. I ended up adding 3 more teaspoons of water to get the icing a little runny.
9. Once the cake is at room temperature (you can speed the process up by putting the cakes in the freezer) you can ice one cake at a time letting the icing drip over the sides. Stack one cake on top of the other.
10. Top with sugared lemons (optional)

Notes

You don’t want to have crumbly cake bottoms or else your icing will show all the bumps. If your cake is extra crumbly, stick it in the freezer for 15 mins so it hardens a little and it’s easy to brush off crumbs before you ice.

Keywords: Zucchini, Cake, Lime, Lemon