Spiced Zucchini Pear Cake
A simple cake with BIG flavor— spiced zucchini pear bundt cake with brown butter glaze.
I love cake. I looooove cake. But I’m not always in the mood for a fancy, high-maintenance layer cake. Sometimes I just want something simple, something quick and easy, but that still tastes amazing.
Enter this bundt cake! This spiced zucchini pear bundt cake with brown butter glaze is everything you could want in a humble but satisfying autumn dessert.
This bundt cake is filled with pears and zucchini— which are both still in season in October, by the way!— and spiced with cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger. It’s moist, flavorful, and is honestly so good it doesn’t even need any frosting or glaze.
But who am I to pass up an opportunity to smother a cake in icing? And this glaze made with browned butter really is the literal icing on the cake.
This recipe has been on my site since 2010, but I felt I needed to re-post it today so it can get the love it deserves. Don’t be fooled by its simple appearance, you’re gonna love it!
baking tip:How to brown butter
- Add cubed butter to saucepan over medium low heat (cubing the butter first allows it to melt more evenly).
- Butter will melt and start to foam. Stir frequently with a rubber spatula, scraping the bottom of the pan.
- Continue to cook butter until you see brown specs in the butter and it has a nutty aroma.
- Remove from heat immediately and pour it into a heatproof container. If left in the pan it will continue to cook and burn.
- Use the melted browned butter right away or put in the fridge for later use.
Spiced Zucchini Pear Cake with Brown Butter Glaze
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 ¼ all-purpose flour (150 grams)
- 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup light or dark brown sugar (105 grams)
- ½ cup granulated sugar (100 grams)
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup whole milk (125 ml)
- 1 cup shredded zucchini (155 grams)
- 1 cup peeled and diced pears (165 grams)
For the glaze:
- ¼ cup unsalted butter (56 grams)
- 1 cup powdered sugar , sifted (210 grams)
- 1-2 tablespoons whole milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
To make the cake:
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 inch bundt pan with butter and flour or nonstick cooking spray.
- In a bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. In another bowl, mix together the eggs, sugar, and milk.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix until the mixture just comes together and the dry ingredients have fully incorporated into the wet ingredients.
- Fold in the shredded zucchini and chopped pears.
- Bake 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a plate or cake stand and let cool completely.
To make the frosting:
- Melt the butter in a small saucepan set over medium low heat. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until butter is golden brown and has a nutty aroma, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool for about 10 minutes.
- Add the powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon of the milk and vanilla extract and stir until smooth. Glaze should be thick but pourable. Add more milk if needed. Glaze cake immediately.
- Chill in the fridge for 20 minutes to firm up glaze before serving, if desired. Store leftover cake in the fridge for up to 5 days.
This recipe was originally published November 2010. Photos have been updated and minor improvements to the recipe have been made.
Love that you reposted this one! I remember loving it the first time and I forgot about it!! I hope to make it this year. Yes to browned butter and Spiced Pears!!!
I made this last night after stumbling upon your blog. The warm soft pear pieces really make the cake. I wouldn’t substitute anything for them!
I didn’t thoroughly mix the wet and dry ingredients together before adding the zucchini and pears, and it resulted in some dryish pockets in the cake. So readers, beware of that pitfall.
I also thought 2 cups of powdered sugar and 3T of maple syrup sounded like a lot of sweetness for the frosting, so instead I added only a few T of sugar and about 3 teaspoons of syrup to the creamcheese-butter mixture. It made a thicker more creamcheasy frosting than the recipe would have, but it was very good on the cake.
Candace made this last night and we all devoured it. Delicious!!!
Thanks for the recipe! I baked mine in muffin tins and they turned out fabulous! The frosting is so good that even my health-freak boyfriend is eating it with a spoon!
It looked so good that I ate half of my PC screen!
That frosting is gorgeous! This is definitely a cake to try sometime very soon.
Ravenous I feel on looking at this treat…
Awesome!! I would definitely try this at home. This would be really special and unique. Thanks
This looks delicious by the way. I just read your foodbuzz profile and love that your three favorite ingredients are butter, butter, and more butter. I love using real butter, too, and tend to shy away from using subs like applesauce. There is a reason why people bake with butter…it is simply amazing.
i want this. right now!!! yummmy!!!
This is definitely my kind of cake! Looks so delicious and that frosting is driving me crazy! lol.
Gorgeous!
Thanks for the recipe. Worked out great!
I think my tummy just rumbled. This looks so delicious and perfect for fall, Annalise. I need to start baking with zucchini already. Thanks so much for sharing!
ooh, that has me drooling! The combo of flavors and textures sounds like it makes one amazing cake!
This sounds and looks so good!