No sharing here.
Personal desserts are my jam.
Don’t get me wrong: I love digging into a slice of cake and scooping a mound of ice cream out of a carton as much as everyone else. But there’s just something extra-special about choosing my very own dessert off a platter and getting to eat it all by myself. No sharing required.
The most familiar type of personal desserts used to be cookies. But recently, miniature desserts of all kinds—cheesecakes, layer cakes, tiny tarts—have started popping up all over: on Instagram, in shop windows . . . and here too! With these Mini Zucchini Spice Cakes, I am officially joining the mini-dessert craze!
If the photo above intimidates you, if you’re tempted to click out of this because you instantly think: “I could never do anything like that” . . . DON’T GO!
These miniature cakes may appear fussy and challenging, but they’re actually very easy to make and assemble. In reality, they’re less intimidating and complicated than baking and frosting a full layer cake, where you need multiple cake pans and—if you’re going to do it correctly—a palate knife. With these mini cakes, you don’t need any special equipment: just a rimmed cookie sheet and MAYBE a plastic bag with a hole cut in a corner to pipe frosting . . . if you want to go there (you could also just use a butter knife!)
Regardless of how simple these cakes are to create, they also have a great wow factor! An entire tray of them is very impressive. This makes them great for entertaining, whether you’re hosting a small party for close friends or creating a dessert buffet for a holiday open house. Your guests will be impressed and everyone—adults and kids alike—will love getting to pick out their own. Like I said above, there’s just something magical about getting to have your own personal dessert. People go crazy for it.
Beloved baker Dorie Greenspan once said, what’s great about a cookie is . . . a cookie is all yours.” She understands the value of the personal dessert.
With these Zucchini Spice Cake recipe, I present to you the cake that is all yours! Get baking-- and eating!
Enjoy!
Mini Zucchini Spice Cakes with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting
(Makes 12 mini cakes)
For the cake:
260 grams all-purpose flour (~2 cups)*
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. Diamond Crystal kosher salt
1 tbsp. cinnamon
1 ½ tsp. nutmeg
1 ½ tsp. ginger
150 grams brown sugar (~1 ½ cup)
150 grams granulated sugar (~1 ½ cup)
4 medium eggs, beaten
180 mL vegetable oil (~¾ cup)
2 cups zucchini, shredded and squeezed (~1 ½ medium zucchini)
1 cup walnuts
1 cup raisins
For the cream cheese frosting:
225 grams cream cheese (8-oz box)
113 grams butter (~½ cup, 1 stick)
200 grams powdered sugar (~generous 1 ½ cup)
¼ tsp. Diamond Crystal kosher salt
1 tbsp. lemon juice
1 tbsp. lemon zest
Special equipment: baking sheet, parchment paper, 2 1/2-inch ring cookie cutter, piping bag (optional)
Method
For the cake:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and line a rimmed 17” x 10” baking sheet sheet with parchment paper.
To toast the walnuts, spread onto a baking sheet (not the prepared one) and bake for 10-15 minutes, or until golden brown in the middle. Remove from the oven and cool, then chop into small pieces.
Increase the oven heat to 350 degrees.
To plump the raisins, pour into a small saucepot and cover with water. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then remove the pot from the heat and let the raisins sit in the hot water for 10 minutes. Drain.
Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and spices in a large bowl. In a second bowl, beat eggs well, then add sugars and oil and stir to mix thoroughly. Stir in zucchini. Add the dry ingredients, a third at a time, and fold in until just combined. Fold in walnuts and raisins.
Pour batter into the prepared cookie sheet pan and spread with a spatula to distribute evenly. Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean and the cake springs back when lightly touched. Do not overbake.
Remove and cool completely, then wrap the cookie sheet tightly with plastic wrap and freeze in the tray.
For the Frosting:
Beat cream cheese and butter until soft and light. Add in salt and sugar, a little at a time. Add in lemon zest and juice. Taste and add more zest and salt if needed.
To Assemble:
Bring the cake out of the freezer and let sit for 5 minutes, just to warm slightly. Uing a 2 ½-inch round cookie cutter, cut out 24 cake rounds. Pipe a ¼-inch layer of frosting on twelve of the rounds (or swirl with a knife), then top with the other twelve. Pipe (or swirl) frosting on the tops, and garnish with additional chopped walnuts or a whole walnut half, if desired.
*Volumetric measurements are estimates based on general accepted equivalents. This recipe has not been tested with them.
Originally posted November 9, 2019.
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