Adapted from my award-winning zucchini bread recipe, this zucchini crumb cake is moist, cinnamon-spiced, and packed with summerโs bountiful green vegetable. Finished with a buttery brown sugar crumb topping and velvety vanilla icing, this cake will have everyone begging for veggies in the morning.
One reader, Susie, commented: โAbsolutely perfect! The entire cake disappeared faster than brownies typically do hereโฆthink that says something. โ โ โ โ โ โ
This zucchini crumb cake doesnโt taste like vegetables at all, and thatโs a promise! Just 100% dessert goodness.
Zucchini Crumb Cake Details
- Texture: Todayโs breakfast dish is soft, moist, and cakey just like my New York-style crumb cake recipe.
- Flavor: Expect a flavorful cinnamon-spice cake with extra goodness from the sweet, buttery crumb topping.
- Ease: This recipe can be prepared ahead of time and then whipped out the next time youโre hosting a special breakfast or brunch. You can freeze the baked and cooled cake for up to 3 months. When youโre ready to enjoy it, bring it to room temperature first and then drizzle with fresh vanilla icing, if desired, before serving.
And bonus: You donโt even need a mixer to make it!
Zucchiniโs Magical Disappearing Act!
I enjoy zucchini in many baked goods beyond classic zucchini bread and zucchini muffins and I know you will tooโhave you tried zucchini oatmeal cookies and zucchini cake (or even chocolate zucchini cake) yet?
Hereโs why you should bake with zucchini:
- Zucchini adds pure moisture with zero vegetable flavor. I wouldnโt bake a cake with a green vegetable if I could taste it. Itโs like using carrots to make a delicious carrot cake, except that zucchini hides even better. Itโs truly magical in its disappearing act in baked goods.
- There are only so many zucchini side dishes to make! (Zucchini casserole or zucchini fritters, anyone?!) Zucchini grows abundantly in the summer, and itโs fun to incorporate this vegetable when baking during its peak season. Would your neighbors prefer you show up at their door with fresh zucchini from your garden or a homemade zucchini crumb cake?
For even more inspiration, here are 20+ of my favorite zucchini recipesโboth sweet and savory! You absolutely don’t want to miss these savory zucchini biscuits.
Key Ingredients You Need & Why
- Flour: Sturdy all-purpose flour is the base of this crumb cake.
- Butter: It creates a wonderfully moist crumb.
- Sugar: A combination of brown and granulated sugars in the cake batter adds more moisture and the best taste and texture. Using only brown sugar in the crumb topping ensures a soft, sweet crumb.
- Zucchini: Weโll use 1 cup (130g) of shredded zucchini. I recommend a box grater to shred the vegetable.
- Cinnamon: We canโt have crumb topping without cinnamon! Because we use cinnamon in both the cake and topping layers, this zucchini crumb cake is perfectly cinnamon-y.
Optional Icing
Feel free to dress the zucchini breakfast cake up with a drizzle of vanilla icing, just like I do with my coffee cake and crumb cake muffins. I like topping the cake with icing while itโs still warm, so it seeps into all of the nooks and crannies. You could also use maple icing from my maple brown sugar cookies, brown butter icing from my apple blondies, or simply leave the cake plainโthat crumb topping is delicious all on its own!
Similar Baking Recipes You Will Love
- Cream Cheese Zucchini Muffins
- Chocolate Zucchini Bread
- Carrot Cake Cupcakes
- Morning Glory Muffins
- Carrot Cake
Zucchini Crumb Cake
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 35 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 5 minutes
- Yield: serves 9-12
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Adapted from my zucchini bread recipe, this zucchini crumb cake is moist, cinnamon-spiced, and hidden with summer’s favorite green vegetable inside. Topped with a buttery brown sugar crumb topping and sweet vanilla icing, veggies for breakfast never tasted so good!
Ingredients
Crumb Topping
- 1/2 cup (63g) all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup (100g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup (4 Tbsp; 56g) unsalted butter, melted
Cake
- 1 and 1/2 cups (188g) all-purpose flourย (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon groundย nutmeg
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, melted + slightly cooled
- 1/3 cup (65g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/3 cup (65g)ย granulated sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup (130g) shredded zucchini (no need to blot)
- optional: vanilla icing
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ยฐF (177ยฐC). Grease an 8-inch or 9-inch square or round baking pan, springform pan, or pie dish or line with parchment paper. Set aside.
- Make the crumb topping: With a fork, mix the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon together in a small bowl. Mix in the melted butter. Don’t over-mix; you want the flour-y crumbles. Place in the refrigerator while you make the cake batter.
- Make the cake: Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg together in a large bowl. Whisk the butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg, and vanilla extract together in a medium bowl, then whisk in the shredded zucchini. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Batter will be thick. Pour/spread into prepared baking pan, then sprinkle the crumb topping evenly on top.
- Bake for 35-38 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out mostly clean with no wet batter. (A few moist crumbs are ok!)ย If you find the top of the cakeย is browning too quickly in the oven, loosely cover it with aluminum foil.
- Remove the cake from the oven and set on a wire rack.ย Allow to slightly cool for a few minutes before slicing. I suggest drizzling withย vanilla icingย while the cake is still warm!
- Cover leftover cakeย tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions:ย Freeze baked and cooled cake for up to 3ย months. Bring to room temperature and drizzle with vanilla icing, if desired, before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 8-inch Square Baking Pan, 9-Inch Square Baking Pan, 9-inch Round Baking Pan, 9-Inch Springform Pan, or 9-inch Pie Dish | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Box Grater | Cooling Rack
- 9×13-inch Crumb Cake: Doubling the recipe will be too much batter for a 9×13-inch cake pan. I recommend doubling the recipe, filling the pan halfway, then using any extra batter for muffins. Bake time for 9×13-inch crumb cake will be around 45-50 minutes, but use a toothpick to test for doneness. Instructions for baking zucchini muffins are below.
- Zucchini Crumb Cake Muffins: Make the crumb topping and batter as written.ย Grease a 12-count muffin pan or line with liners. Spoonย the batter evenly into each liner, filling each all the way to the top. Press crumb topping into each. Bake the muffins for 5 minutes at 425ยฐF (218ยฐC)ย then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature toย 350ยฐF (177ยฐC). Bake for an additional 13-16ย minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. The total time these muffins take in the oven is about 18-21 minutes, give or take. Allow the muffins to cool for 5ย minutes in the muffin pan, then transfer to a wire rack to continue cooling. Yield: about 12-14 muffins.
Reader Comments and Reviews
This is the best coffee cake. I added 1/3 cup chopped pecans and increased the oven time to 45 minutes, but otherwise did not change a thing. I have made the recipe both with and without the icing and and it’s equally good either way. The recipe is already in my file!
Sally, I really like your recipes … Thank you for sharing Yummy recipes that are Always comes just in the nick of time…
I have learned a lot about different categorizes from your recipes.
Keep them coming…
Is there any issue with substituting oil for the butter?
Hi Aurora, youโll lose a lot of flavor without the butter, so we recommend sticking with it for best overall taste and texture.
This was divine. I wanted something other than zucchini bread and this was so much better. Thank you!!
Made this twice. Followed directions exactly. Both times it has come out rather dry even after pulling it early on second dry. I think oil in the batter as opposed to butter would be better. Sallyโs zucchini bread calls for oil; I think this should too. Topping is great though.
Hi Brian, there are a few different factors that can contribute to a dry cake. This post on how to prevent dry and dense cakes will be helpful for troubleshooting. Be sure not to blot your zucchini either, as it provides necessary moisture for the cake. Thank you for giving this one a try!
Top Notch! I’m a long time baker, have made my mother’s zucchini bread recipe for years and work in a bakery. With an overload of garden zucchini this summer was looking for other ideas. This elevates zucchini coffee cake to the next level. Fairly simple but simply DELICIOUS! Would recommend 10 out of 10 times!
Loved this. My new favorite zucchini recipe!
I love this cake! Moist, tasty and easy to make. Because I am a cinnamon lover, I added a touch of cinnamon to the vanilla icing. Goes great with that morning cup of coffee.
Delicious – I didnโt change a thing and baked them in jumbo muffin tins!
Absolutely perfect! Iโm a longtime baker and this recipe was perfection on the palate.
I will be doubling up the recipe next time!
Followed this recipe precisely; baked 35 minutes. Perfect crumb, nice flavour! Will definitely make this one again, Sally!
Kay I made it yesterday with some small changes and have to share!
I cut the sugar in half (basically added only the brown sugar portion) and it was sweet enough. The crumb is sooo sweet that I think it’s even better balanced this way. Also: next time I’ll only use a part of the crumb and maybe freeze the rest, because the portion is big.
+ I added some dark chocolate drops to the batter, which I think makes the cake slightly more interesting.
Was eaten whole in two seatings. ๐
Very good cake. A bit on the dry side. Think I might add another egg or more butter. Thanks for recipe.
Would it be in to cut the sugar in half?
Hi KJ, while you can try reducing the sugar, keep in mind that it plays an important role in the overall taste, texture, and structure of the bread. We’d start small and then adjust further for future batches.
This recipe is delicious! I do add 1/4 C Sour Cream to the batter. The icing is delicious too but makes a lot so I reduce by 1/4 or so and I did it both ways (applied when warm and when fully cooled) I prefer cooled because it looks better. This cake is a great change since it’s unique (vs breads which are also delicious but this offers variety when the garden is overflowing).
From my hubby that’s not too excited about anything zucchini, “WOW! What is this?”
He usually never comments.
YAY! So happy to read this, Patty!
This cake is amazing – so light and delicious!! Itโs been a hit with my friends and neighbors. The recipe is keeper!