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Thanks to the Olivari Year of Little, I am able to bring you a new use for your overflowing zucchini plant: Cinnamon Zucchini Coffee Cake. When the zucchini is cooked, it tastes just like apple!
It’s the little things in life that make it worth it, am I right? A smile from a stranger, a hug from a child, dishes done for you while you’re running errands. The little things in life are what make us happier people. Olivari Olive Oil is celebrating the Year of Little: the little things in life that matter. A little song, a little video, a little prettiness in a garden that once wasn’t.
Obviously, my zucchini plant did not get the memo that the little things in life make us happy. It’s been growing out of control! Between the daddy zucchinis and the 1-2 yellow squash and cucumbers every day, I haven’t had to buy vegetables in a very long time.
I think I’ve learned my lesson about the little things: only plant one little zucchini plant. Two like to multiply like it’s 1999.
In the hopes of getting rid of yet even more zucchini, I decided to make a coffee cake. But it’s not your regular butter based coffee cake. I switched it up and used olive oil instead. Have you ever used olive oil in baking? I never have, and have wanted to for some time.
I’ve made cinnamon apple coffee cake before, and it was one of my favorite flavors. When I saw Deborah’s post over at Taste and Tell about how, when you cook zucchini and put it into a crumble, it tastes like apple a light bulb went off in my head. Why not make a Cinnamon Zucchini Coffee Cake?
Would it work? Would it taste like an apple coffee cake?
The answer is yes. Cooked zucchini with lemon juice, cinnamon, and sugar tastes like apple! This Cinnamon Zucchini Coffee Cake is just like an apple one. It’s the perfect substitute for apple, if you have an abundance of zucchini.
The cake is tender, and the olive oil adds great flavor. The zucchini is cooked ahead of time with sugar and cinnamon, so that it’s soft after baking. Then it’s topped with a brown sugar olive oil crumble. It was great plain, and it was great with cream cheese frosting. I’m promising you – your family will have no idea that this is zucchini.
It’s like eating a vegetable for breakfast! {You can eat more that way.}
I hope you’re enjoying the little things in life this summer. Like an overgrowing zucchini plant – so you have a reason to make this coffee cake!
Check out the Olivari Facebook Page for more Year of Little inspiration!
Cinnamon Zucchini Coffee Cake
Ingredients
For the filling
- 2 cups zucchini peeled, seeded, and diced
- 1/4 cup lemon juice
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
For the Cake
- ¾ cup sugar
- ¼ cup olive oil or vegetable oil
- 1 egg
- ½ cup milk
- 1 ½ cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
For the Topping
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoons flour
- 1 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°. Spray an 8” square pan with cooking spray.
- Add zucchini, lemon juice, sugar, and cinnamon to a frying pan over medium heat. Cook for about 3-4 minutes, until the zucchini just starts to turn opaque, but is still white. Remove from heat to cool.
- Whisk flower, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon together in a medium bowl.
- Stir sugar, oil, and egg in a large bowl. Stir in milk. Stir dry ingredients into wet and stir until just combined. Pour into prepared pan.
- Sprinkled cooled zucchini evenly over the top of the cake batter.
- Make the crumb topping: stir together brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and oil. Sprinkle over zucchini.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
Olivari Olive Oil is celebrating “One Year of Little”. Visit their Facebook page to learn why the little things are everything.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Olivari . The opinions and text are all mine.
Last Updated on May 20, 2022
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