Autumn Spiced Zucchini Bundt Cake

Warming spices such as cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger come together in this Autumn Spiced Zucchini Bundt Cake to create an inviting slice of fall, using the end of summer’s fresh produce. This is one of the most popular cake recipes at Lord Byron’s Kitchen!

This summer, more than any other summer before, I have been experimenting with cooking and baking with zucchini.  I have a few zucchini recipes here at Lord Byron’s Kitchen, but not enough in my opinion. Autumn Spiced Zucchini Bundt Cake is just about the last of new zucchini recipes for me this year, I think.

Fast forward to 2021. Here I am just updating some of the text in this post and I can’t help but share a new recipe I developed using zucchini this year. It’s my Tomato Zucchini Pasta. Oh my! That is one really great pasta dish. It was absolutely delicious!

Oh, I almost forgot! I did go back and update my Zucchini Lasagna Rolls this year too. Since I first published that recipe, I have developed it so much and made it so much better that I deleted the old one from this site and posted a brand-new recipe. It’s still just as delicious, but the technique has been tweaked a lot so it was just best to start all over!

THE VERSATILE ZUCCHINI

I haven’t always been a fan of zucchini.  And, it was mostly because I wouldn’t give it a chance.  Thank goodness zucchini lends itself so well to baking because that’s really how I prefer to eat it.  I mean, just look at this gorgeous Autumn Spiced Zucchini Bundt Cake and tell me that you don’t feel the same way!

I was always under the impression that zucchini tasted like cucumber, so I basically stayed away from it.  I’m not a fan of cucumber at all.  First of all, it always tends to give me vicious heartburn, and also, I don’t like the smell.  To me, cucumber smells like raw fish!

SO MANY WAYS TO PREPARE ZUCCHINI

Once I started cooking and baking with zucchini, I soon realized how wrong I was.  We absolutely love it!  Earlier this year, I made Zucchini Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins.  They were a great option for using up summer’s zucchini bounty.  But, truth be told, other than baked goods, I prefer my zucchini to be in the form of a pickle.

Have you ever had Preserved Mustard Pickles?  Zucchini pairs very well with mustard, so I had to include them in my preserved pickle recipe.  And, instead of cucumbers, I used zucchini in my Bread and Butter Zucchini Pickles recipe.  I think zucchini just ends up a better-tasting pickle.

The one other way that I love to eat zucchini is to grill it.  Zucchini holds up so well to being grilled.  And, it’s so easy to get those grill marks we all like to achieve when cooking anything on a grill.  I like to put grilled zucchini on pizza.  Have you ever tried it?  Grilled Veggie Pizza with a Cheese Filled Crust is a great recipe for that grilled zucchini!

WHY YOU SHOULD ADD ZUCCHINI TO BAKED ITEMS

When it comes to cakes, zucchini does two things.  First, the finely grated zucchini adds gorgeous flecks of green throughout the cake while adding more nutritional value to the cake itself.

Secondly, zucchini helps to keep a cake super moist.  Autumn Spiced Zucchini Bundt Cake is proof of that!  This cake can only be described as being super moist, super delicious, super easy, and the most wonderful way possible to introduce your family to the familiar tastes and scents of fall flavours.

In our home, fall flavours are always welcomed, but I know some people think that pumpkin spice-like flavours should be saved for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  And once Christmas is over, the pumpkin spice-like spices should be packed away for the next ten months.

Well, in our home, cinnamon, ginger, all-spice, nutmeg, and cloves – the classic flavours in a pumpkin spice mix – are always welcomed and craved!  We absolutely love it!  And, I hope you do too; if you do, then this Autumn Spiced Zucchini Bundt Cake is for you!  Enjoy!!

HERE IS WHAT YOU WILL NEED:

The following is a list of the ingredients needed to prepare this recipe. For exact amounts and measurements, refer to the printable recipe card located near the bottom of this post. 

• Zucchini – The zucchini will be shredded and squeezed very well to get rid of as much moisture as possible. The more liquid you can squeeze out of the zucchini, the better results you will have!
• Butter – Make sure your butter is softened and at room temperature! I always use salted butter, unless stated otherwise.  To be perfectly honest, there’s never much of a difference in taste or appearance once all is said and done. Use what you have on hand.
• Milk – When a baking recipe requires milk, I always use whole milk, unless otherwise stated. 
• Vanilla Extract – Probably the most common extract and the most common flavouring used in cakes and cookies. 
• Eggs – Whenever you set out to bake, make sure your eggs are at room temperature too – just like your butter!
• Flour – No need for anything special. Just use regular all-purpose flour. I have not tried this recipe with any other type of flour.
• Baking Powder – This is used to increase the batter’s volume and add texture.
• Baking Soda – This is a baking ingredient that’s activated by a liquid and helps with leavening or rising. 
• Salt – This is a common ingredient in baking and cooking.  In baking, it helps to enhance and balance the sweetness.
• Sugar – Sugar has more than one function in baking.  Not only does it add sweetness, but it will caramelize too, which will help to brown cookies and cakes. 
• Confectioner’s Sugar – This superfine sugar is sometimes called powdered sugar.  It is used in frostings, dessert toppings, icings, and baked goods quite often.  It’s also very visually appealing when dusted lightly onto cakes and cookies.

SPICES

• Cinnamon – Cinnamon is a spice created from the inner bark of the Cinnamomum tree.   The bark is dried until it curls into a roll known as a cinnamon stick.  These are ground into powder.  Commonly found in baked goods, cinnamon is aromatic with a warming flavour.
• Nutmeg – Nutmeg is a seed that comes in whole or ground form.  It is a key ingredient in many baked goods and is essential to anything eggnog related.  I often use it in fall dishes, especially in mashed potatoes!
• Ginger – Ground ginger is fresh ginger that has been peeled and dried before being ground into a powder.  It has a pale yellow in colour and has a pungent, spicy smell.  It adds a warming, spicy flavour to recipes.
• Cloves – Ground cloves come from whole cloves which have been finely ground.  They are a flower bud that comes from the clove tree.  Whole dried cloves look like small nails.  The name clove comes from the Latin word for nail.  They are extremely fragrant and commonly found in spiced cakes and confections.

HOW TO MAKE AUTUMN SPICED ZUCCHINI BUNDT CAKE

Before you start to do anything, you should shred the zucchini with a box grater. Transfer the shredded zucchini to the middle of a clean kitchen towel. Gather up the sides and wring the zucchini until you have squeezed out as much moisture as possible! Next, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and grease a bundt or tube pan quite liberally with non-stick cooking spray.  Set that aside.

Now, add the following ingredients to a large mixing bowl: zucchini, butter, milk, vanilla, and eggs.  Beat those ingredients together until well blended. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves.  Use your mixer, and on the lowest speed, blend the dry ingredients into the wet batter until just mixed.  Do not over-mix the batter.

Pour the batter into your prepared pan.  Tap the pan firmly on a hard surface – like a cutting board or a countertop – to ensure the batter has sunk into the corners of the pan.  This also helps to eliminate large air bubbles. Bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick, inserted into the center of the cake, comes out clean. Leave the cake in the pan for 30 minutes.  This is very important!  Removing the cake early, due to the density of the cake, will result in a broken cake.  After 30 minutes. turn the cake out onto your serving platter.  Garnish with confectioner’s sugar if you so desire and serve.