Homemade Spiced Zucchini Cake

Vegetables are delicious...when they are blended into a cake right? Plain sautéed zucchini is good but zucchini is taken to a whole knew level when it's blended into an old fashioned, perfectly spiced, sweetly delicious cake and covered in a decadent cream cheese frosting!

This homestyle zucchini cake tastes very similar to carrot cake, which is why I love it so much (carrot cake is one of my favorites)! Plus it's got to be one of the moistest cakes you'll ever make. Not a dry crumb in site.

It's easy breezy to make (you don't even use a mixer for the cake portion), and it's sure to satisfy those cake cravings.

I highly recommend finishing it with pecans or walnuts for some textural contrast. I haven't ever been a big fan of nuts swirled into cake but I love them as a finishing touch on a spiced cake like this. They complement it beautifully.

Store the cake in the fridge and from there you can even enjoy it cold.

An Easy Applesauce Cake Recipe

Who can resist a simple, flavorful, homestyle cake just like Grandma would have made? This cake is just that!

It's brimming with applesauce, generously speckled with warm spices throughout, there's just enough sweetness, and it's all balanced with a rich cream cheese frosting to polish it off.

It's an autumn cake worthy of celebrations, bringing to the holiday dinner parties, nice for gifting, or just a great applesauce snack cake to have in the fridge to enjoy after dinner throughout the week.

You'll find it's so good in fact that it really doesn't even need a frosting if you aren't feeling up to it. That's right, a cake so good you can even skip the frosting!

A luscious cake that will have you savoring every tempting bite!

Watch the Video!

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Carrot cake has long been my favorite cake and this is the only carrot cake recipe I ever use!

Carrot Cake Perfect for Any Celebration

This recipe will forever change your opinion on what carrot cake is supposed to be. All the best things in one utterly divine slice of cake:

• Tender softness. A melt-in-your-mouth texture.
• Moist crumb. No dryness in the slightest here.
• Plenty of finely shredded carrots (they add light flavor, and nice moisture and give it such a pretty natural color too).
• Perfect level of sweetness.
• Great blend of spices and vanilla for a boost of flavor.
• Fluffy yet stable.
• Finished with a decadent frosting. Cream cheese frosting is the only way to go here.

I've made this cake probably close to 100 times. I'm always looking for an excuse to make it and will continue to do so. When I'm throwing out options for someone on their birthday this always has a way of being the top idea on the list :).

And of course, it's the best cake to serve for a spring celebration or Easter. This year I'll be making half the recipe and doing one layer (which can be done in a 9-inch round or 8 by 8 pan) for our small family of four.

And if you'll be celebrating the holiday eating on your own or just two of you, you could always make cupcakes and freeze some for later.

Sending love to each of you. I hope you are finding some joy in cooking and baking these days.

I'm thinking of you, and praying for all of you in these trying times. Holding on to hope for a better tomorrow. This too shall pass in time.

In the meantime let's be there for each other, from a distance.

Watch the Video!

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Want to add an autumn flavor? Also try my Pumpkin Cornbread recipe too this fall!

Tried and True Best Cornbread Recipe

This dreamy cornbread is an old tried and true recipe. I shared this way back in 2012 and decided it was time to revisit a favorite in case you've missed it.

It's nothing like that dry mealy, lifeless cornbread we often get. It's fluffy, moist, tender, flavorful and deliciously sweetened with both honey and sugar (with an adjustable option depending on how sweet you like it).

Of course it's the perfect accompaniment to soups, chilis, roasts, bbq's and so forth but it is so good that it will even pass as a tempting dessert (just go for the sweeter option).

I can't count how many times I've made this easy cornbread recipe and on holidays people are always fighting for the last piece. Try it and you'll see why!

Oh and did I mention it's unbelievable easy to make? No electric mixer required, just a few bowls, a whisk and some seriously easy prep. Can't beat that!

Morning Glory Muffin Recipe

Talk about a whole lot of goodness in one tasty baked treat! These morning glory muffins are easy to make, so easy in fact you don't even need a mixer.

It's just one of those comforting old fashioned recipes like grandma made that's perfect for a holiday breakfast or brunch get together. And of course they make the perfect weekend treat.

You'll love all the flavors and textures paired together in every bite, each one complementing the other. It's a classic muffin that doesn't get the attention it deserves!

Spice Cake

Fall is that time of year where you have more excuses to make cake right? At least that's how I feel about it.

It's that time of year to break out all those delicious, sweet spices on a cold day and get baking!

One cake I've been wanting to try for years is just an old fashioned spice cake. I always loved the boxed spice cake growing up but I rarely cook with them anymore so I need a good homemade version. So here we are.

So Much Better than Box Mix!

It took a few attempts and a lot of contemplating on exactly what I wanted from this cake but let me tell you this cake is worlds better then anything you get from a box!

It is probably the most moist cake I've ever had and filled with the perfect amount of all those delicious autumn spices.

It uses brown sugar instead of white sugar which gives it a sweet caramel-y note and pairs so well with the spices.

Making These Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Spring is in the air! Okay, I know we've still got a ways but it's been starting to warm up, and did you know Easter is in March this year? So what does that mean for me?? Time for carrot cake cupcakes!

I've already shared this recipe before (2 years ago) but I just decided to update things and add a new spin on the decoration to them, because I'm just now realizing how amazing Marzipan is! It's ready to go, as in you don't need to mix anything up, just tint it the color you'd like. Plus, it's not made of nasty ingredients, just almonds, sugar or honey and wheat starch, and the taste and texture reminds me of macarons.

So these tiny little carrots are made out of Marzipan, a little food color, the faintest amount of cocoa powder, and some fresh parsley.

Here is a video on how to make the shapes if you find the directions confusing. Make smaller than listed in the video, though, and dip the toothpick in cocoa before rolling over carrots.

I hope you love this Carrot Cake Cupcake recipe as much as my family and I do! I'd live on them if I could. You'll find me licking up all the moist crumbs from my plate!

These were inspired by the Energy Bites and Chocolate Energy Bites I posted last year, they have very similar ingredients so if you liked those you'll love these too.

Energy Cookies - A Healthier Cookie!

We definitely aren't morning people at my house so I'm always trying to find healthy on the go breakfasts. And then there's those days where it just seems like I don't have time to get to lunch by a decent hour so a healthy snack like these are just what I need.

I know there would be the nay sayers that say these aren't healthy because they still have the chocolate chips and brown sugar, but if it doesn't have a little bit of sweet I'm sure I just wouldn't be able to eat it so I need a happy medium, and at least I came way down to 1/4 cup of brown sugar.

That's big for me because I'm used to putting in about a cup for my cookies. You could cut the brown sugar down if you'd like but this was the perfect ratio for me, plus if I went any lower I'm sure there's no way I could get my kids to love these.

When it comes to fall, I love the traditional pumpkin-spiced treats. But before pumpkin spice became the major trend, apples were the flavor of fall. These cupcakes showcase the rich flavors of autumn apples by using applesauce in place of butter, shortening, or other fatty oils—making them moist and slightly healthier than your average cupcake.

Applesauce Spice Cupcakes

They don't contain a whole lot of fat, because they get most of their moisture from the applesauce rather than needing loads of butter. I'd say these cupcakes belong to the carrot cake family. They taste very similar but no extra time is needed to grate carrots, bonus! These may seem like fall cupcakes but to me, they are perfect year-round (I'll take one any day!), they don't require fresh fruit that's in season.

The cupcake recipe I found in the amazing Martha Stewart Cupcakes book but I added my frosting. The other changes I made were omitting cloves (they listed using 1/8 tsp), I omitted the 1 cup pecans they added to the batter (I prefer the nuts along with the frosting rather than in the cupcakes) and I used salted butter rather than unsalted.

Egg Temperature Hack

I forgot to mention my cheat to get eggs to room temperature quickly when I posted the coconut cupcakes a few days ago. All you do is gently place the eggs in a bowl, cover them with warm tap water, and let them rest for about 10 minutes while you gather up the remaining ingredients for the cupcakes. It's a great kitchen cheat I use every time a recipe calls for eggs at room temperature.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Penuche Frosting

Lightened-up chocolate cupcakes that taste even better than their more fatty competitor?  Sign me up!  These cupcakes melt in your mouth!  You would never know that applesauce was added to lighten them up instead of butter or oil.  And the penuche frosting, where do I begin?  Let's just say this stuff is worth gold to me =).

What is Penuche?

If you have never tried penuche, it's an insanely delicious, caramel-like brown sugar fudge, and here it is in frosting form. If you're a lover of fudge, caramel, or brown sugar flavors... you're never going to want basic frosting again. The cupcake recipe is my own and the frosting recipe was adapted from allrecipes.com; I love that site! If you haven't tried penuche fudge, I definitely recommend it. Penuche often includes nuts (like walnuts), so you could incorporate walnuts into your cupcake mix or sprinkle chopped walnuts onto the frosting after icing.

When to Serve Cupcakes with Penuche Frosting

These cupcakes are decadent and luxurious. I love making them for a chocolate lover's birthday, Valentine's day, or a girls' night. I think everyone will love them, but the penuche frosting is usually more of a win with the grown-up crowd. You can mix it up by adding festive sprinkles or perhaps drizzling with caramel or chocolate syrup! The consistency is easy to spread, but make sure you use a large icing tip and work quickly if you want to pipe the frosting—it's thick and sets quickly. And of course, we love a fun and colorful cupcake liner!