A recipe for Cinnamon Zucchini Cake featuring shredded zucchini in a moist cake batter made with buttermilk, butter and oil. All topped with a crackly cinnamon sugar topping, it's such a fun summer snack cake and a great way to use your fresh garden zucchini.

A macro close-up view of the crisp, sparkling cinnamon sugar crackle topping on top of a freshly baked zucchini cake.

Is it even summer if you aren't searching Google for recipes to use up zucchini? This Cinnamon Zucchini Cake is a fresh update to an old recipe I've made for years. I swapped the milk for buttermilk and used a blend of butter and oil to create a tender, light crumb all finished with a cinnamon sugar topping. This makes a 9x13-inch cake and is perfect for snacking, breakfast or brunch. It also freezes well if you want to store some for later.

Jump to:

Why You'll Love This Cinnamon Zucchini Cake
Ingredients
How to Make Zucchini Cake
Tips for the Best Zucchini Cake
Serving and Storage
📖 Recipe

Why You'll Love This Cinnamon Zucchini Cake

Garden Fresh: It's a delicious way to use up your extra fresh zucchini.
Tender Crumb: The combination of oil, melted butter, and buttermilk creates a very tender and moist cake structure.
Cinnamon Crackle Topping: A cinnamon-sugar topping that bakes into a crisp, delicate crust.
Perfectly Sweet: The cake isn't overly sweet, making it ideal to serve as a coffee cake for weekend breakfast or brunch.
Simple Recipe: This easy from scratch bake features simple kitchen staples, minimal prep, and bakes perfectly in a standard 9x13-inch cake pan.

Several square slices of homemade cinnamon zucchini coffee cake arranged for serving.

Ingredients

Light Brown Sugar: Provides the necessary sweetness and essential moisture to the cake.
Unsalted Butter: Adds a rich bakery flavor to the cake batter and forms the base of the crumbly topping.
Canola Oil: You can use any neutral-flavored vegetable oil here. This helps the cake stay moist at room temperature.
Eggs: Two large eggs bind the ingredients together and provide structural support.
Buttermilk: I highly recommend using whole milk buttermilk. The natural acidity tenderizes the gluten strands for a delicate crumb and activates the leavening agent.
Vanilla Extract: Adds another layer of warm flavor to the sweetness of the cake batter.
All-Purpose Flour: Necessary for creating the structure of the cake. I prefer to use unbleached flour.
Ground Cinnamon: The star flavor of the recipe! You could even add a pinch of nutmeg or ginger if desired.
Baking Soda: The primary leavening agent in the cake which reacts with the buttermilk to lift the cake.
Table Salt: Helps balance the sugars and make the cinnamon flavor pop.
Fresh Zucchini: This recipe uses about one medium-sized zucchini. Be sure to remove excess water before folding the shreds into the cake batter.
Cinnamon Sugar Topping: Made with basic pantry staples like granulated sugar, a touch of flour, cinnamon, and melted butter, this simple mixture transforms into a beautiful, crackly crust in the oven.

How to Make Zucchini Cake

This is a brief visual guide to help you see how the batter and topping should look at each stage. For the exact ingredient measurements, detailed step-by-step instructions, and full baking times, please scroll down to the printable recipe card at the bottom of the post!

Whicking together brown sugar, melted butter, oil, eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla extract in a large ceramic mixing bowl.

Whisk the wet ingredients: Whisk together the wet ingredients until the mixture is smooth.

Stirring all-purpose flour, baking soda, and ground cinnamon into the wet ingredients for a zucchini cake batter.

Add the dry ingredients: Mix in the dry ingredients, being careful to not overmix.

A silicone spatula folding freshly grated green zucchini shreds into a thick, creamy cake batter in a mixing bowl.

Add zucchini: Gently fold in shredded zucchini and allow the batter to rest for 5 minutes.

Spreading zucchini cake batter into a 9x13-inch cake pan.

Transfer to baking pan: Evenly spread batter into your lightly greased 9x13-inch baking pan.

Spreading a layer of zucchini cake batter into a metal 9x13 baking pan and sprinkling the cinnamon sugar mixture evenly over the top.

Sprinkle the topping: Evenly sprinkle the prepared cinnamon sugar topping across the top of the cake batter.

A freshly baked cinnamon zucchini coffee cake straight from the oven, sitting in a metal 9x13 pan with a golden brown, crinkly cinnamon sugar crust.

Bake: Bake at 350°F for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool before slicing.

Tips for the Best Zucchini Cake

Drain the Zucchini: You really want to squeeze and press the excess water out of the zucchini. I like to press it through a fine mesh colander. If you only have a colander with larger holes, you can place paper towels at the bottom and press down on the top. Getting the excess water out is the key to avoiding a heavy cake that is sunken in the center. At the same time you need a bit of moisture left, so don't squeeze it completely dry.
Pan Choice: This cake works best in a light-colored metal 9x13-inch pan due to heat conductivity. Metal heats up quickly and evenly, ensuring a uniform bake.
Let the Batter Rest: Once you fold in the zucchini, let the batter sit in the mixing bowl for 5 minutes before pouring it into your pan. This brief rest allows the starches in the flour to fully absorb the buttermilk, thickening the batter just enough to perfectly support your sugar crust.
Cool Before Slicing: As tempting as it is to cut a warm slice straight out of the oven, give the cake at least 20 to 30 minutes to cool in the pan. The delicate buttermilk crumb finishes setting as it cools.

A fork taking a bite of the delicious cake that is perfect for using leftover grated zucchini.

Serving and Storage

Serving: You can serve the cake slightly warm or at room temperature. We like to microwave a slice for about 10 seconds and enjoy it warm.

Storage: Store the cake covered tightly at room temperature for up to 3 to 4 days. Keep in mind that the topping will soften over a couple of days if stored in a humid environment or in the fridge.

Freezing: This cake can be frozen. You may freeze either the whole cake or individual slices. To freeze the zucchini cake, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and then foil or place slices in a freezer safe bag. It is a great make-ahead breakfast option to keep stocked in the freezer for busy mornings.

Closeup showing the crackly top and moist texture of the zucchini cake.

📖 Recipe

This Cinnamon Zucchini Cake is perfect for using up garden-fresh zucchini. I love the crisp cinnamon sugar topping rather than a rich frosting on this one. It's perfect for an afternoon snack or to pair with your favorite protein for breakfast. Enjoy!