#BundtaMonth: Citrus Glazed Spiced Zucchini Bundt Cake

I had a late night Nigella Lawson moment with this cake. You know how, on her cooking show, she is always shown going down to the kitchen late at night to get a plateful of leftovers of whatever she made for the show that day? I try not to do that much, and I almost never do it with dessert, but suddenly I just knew I had to have the last zucchini mini bundt cake. Before anyone else could get it. I was craving it, obsessing on it. I might regret the decision come morning when it is not there for breakfast (another guilty pleasure), but on the other hand it could be gone because John had eaten it. So clearly I had no choice.

I made 3 cakes for my children’s school’s cakewalk, of which this was one. I have developed a system, when baking for other people, of making enough batter for a 12 cup bundt pan and then using a 10 cup bundt pan. That way I get to try the cake in its miniature form before sending it out into the world. I learned a lesson the hard way with this one, however. When baking desserts for a cakewalk at an elementary school, do not put the word “zucchini” on the box. Or it will get chosen last. Alas. Their loss. Silly kids.

I am extra excited to share this particular cake with you because I have found the most fabulous blogging event, perfectly tailored to me. It is called Bundt A Month, and it is, as you probably guessed, an event where people bake a bundt cake every month. Since I suspect I come closer to baking at least 2 cakes a month, of which 85% are bundts, this will be an easy event to participate in! It is hosted by Anuradha of Baker Street and Lora of Cake Duchess, and they choose themes or ingredients for every month. September was zucchini, and as I just discovered the event, I am sliding in “right before the bell” and sharing this cake. To check out other zucchini bundts for September, head over to Cake Duchess or Baker Street.

So about this specific cake? Oh wow good. Everyone who tried it, loved it. I adapted a Martha Stewart recipe, and then doubled it. It claimed to call for a 6 cup bundt pan, but when I doubled it, it filled way more than 12 cups worth of pans. Go figure. No one was sad to have extra of this cake sitting around though. I suggest you fill a 12 cup bundt pan, and if you have extra fill a mini loaf pan or 2.

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Citrus Glazed Spiced Zucchini Bundt Cake

Adapted from Martha Stewart

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: bundt cake

Author: TheSpicedLife

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 1 1/2 cups 3 sticks unsalted butter, melted
• 5 cups 640 g AP flour
• 5 t baking powder
• 1 t ground Ceylon cinnamon
• 1 t ground cardamom
• 1 t fine sea salt
• 5 cups shredded zucchini squeezed dry (from 4-5 medium zucchini, with seeds scraped out first)
• 6 large eggs
• 3 cups sugar
• zest of one orange about 1 T
• 2 T fresh orange juice
• 1 t vanilla

For the glaze:

• 2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 2 pinches of ground cardamom
• 5 T fresh orange juice
• 1 T fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon finely grated orange zest

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Spray a 12 cup bundt pan with a grease/flour combo, like Baker's Joy.
2. Whisk together flour, baking powder, spices, and salt. Set aside.
3. Grate zucchini in a food processor or with a box grater. After measuring out 5 cups, squeeze them dry in a kitchen towel over the sink. Set aside.
4. Stir together eggs and sugar, then stir in melted butter, zucchini, vanilla and orange zest and juice. Gently stir in flour mixture. Scrape the batter into pan. If it starts to get too full (it should have about 2 inches below the rim), scrape the excess into greased and floured mini loaf pans.
5. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake(s) comes out clean, about 1 hour (less for mini loaves; start checking around 20 minutes). Transfer the pan to a wire rack, and let the cake cool for 10 minutes. Place parchment paper over the top of the cake and then turn it out onto a wire rack (the parchment will keep it from sinking into the wire grid too much.). Let cool for at least 30 minutes before glazing.
6. To prepare the glaze whisk together the glaze ingredients until smooth. Place wax paper under the cooling rack and quickly remove the parchment paper from under the cake**. Pour the glaze over the slightly warm (but not super hot) cake. Gather the glaze that has dripped onto the wax paper, slide fresh wax paper under the cake, and pour the excess glaze back over the cake again. Repeat until the glaze is not worth collecting anymore or until you have glazed the cake to your satisfaction. Let cool completely.

**If you own a cake lifter it will make your life exponentially easier if you bake a lot of cakes!