Apple Carrot Zucchini Snack Cake
This soft and cozy apple carrot zucchini spice cake is packed with fruit and veggies, then topped with cream cheese frosting and plenty of sprinkles. Make it as a simple sheet cake (my pan was 11×14.5×2) or use a round container to turn it into fun little “dot cakes” for an after-school treat. You can also scroll down the page to see the scaled down muffin recipe.
Equipment
- 11×14.5 sheet cake pan (or similar)
- Food processor or grater
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 3.5 cups Flour
- 5 tsp Baking Powder
- 1.25 tsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Salt
- 1 Tbsp Cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp Allspice
- 1-2 Tbsp Granulated Sugar (optional)
Wet Ingredients
- 1 1/4 cups Unsweetened Applesauce
- 3/4 cup Agave or Maple Syrup
- 1/2 cup Nut butter
- 1/4 cup Vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup Milk (cow milk or alternative)
- 1 Tbsp Vanilla extract
Fruit & Veggies
- 1 cup Chopped Carrot
- 1 cup Chopped Zuchinni (Remove excess moisture)
- 1 cup Chopped Apple
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 oz Cream Cheese, cold
- 1/4 cup Butter (soft)
- 1 1/4 cups Powdered Sugar
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp Lemon juice
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease an 11 × 14.5-inch metal cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
- Prep the produce. Using a food processor, finely chop the carrot, zucchini and apple separately until the pieces are very small- about the size of rice or confetti. Don't purée.
- Measure 1 cup of each after chopping. Gently squeeze some of the excess moisture from the zucchini. Don't squeeze the carrot or apple.
- Combine the dry ingredients. In large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and allspice.
- Combine the wet ingredients. In a separate large bowl, whisk together the applesauce, agave, cashew butter, oil, milk, vanilla and sugar until well combined.
- Gently mix together wet ingredients and dry ingredients. Then stir in the carrot, zucchini and apple. Avoid overmixing.
- Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Gently tap the pan on the counter a couple of times to help it settle.
- Bake for approximately 30–38 minutes. Begin checking around 28–30 minutes. The cake is done when the center springs back when lightly pressed and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out without wet batter.
- Allow the cake to cool completely.
- For dot cakes, press rim of an upside down bowl, jar, or round container into the cooled cake to cut out circles of cake.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- Combine butter and powdered sugar until creamy
- Mix in the vanilla, lemon juice, and salt.
- Add the cold cream cheese last and mix until smooth.
- Refrigerate at least 30-60 minutes before frosting your cakes.
& Here’s the original muffin version if you prefer to just make hearty after-school muffins 🙂 You can frost them, or my kids even love them with a simple swipe of butter.
Apple, Carrot & Zucchini Spice Muffins
Makes about 12 standard muffins/cupcakes
Ingredients
Dry
- 1⅓ cups (160 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 1¾ tsp cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp allspice
Fruit + Veggies
- ⅓ cup finely chopped carrot
- ⅓ cup finely chopped zucchini, lightly squeezed
- ⅓ cup finely chopped apple
Wet
- ½ cup unsweetened applesauce
- ¼ cup + 1 Tbsp agave
- ¼ cup cashew butter
- 2 Tbsp neutral oil
- 3 Tbsp milk of choice
- 1 Tbsp vanilla
- 1½ tsp granulated sugar
Small-Batch Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting
Enough for about 12 cupcakes with a modest layer of frosting.
- 4 oz cream cheese, cold
- 2 Tbsp vegan butter, softened but still cool
- ½ cup + 2 Tbsp powdered sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla
- ¼ tsp lemon juice, optional
- Tiny pinch of salt
What do you think?