Zucchini Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

My mother has the most excellent garden. And she has made sure that Jack is apart of it. He helped plant the seeds and he has helped water the plants. Once things started growing, he was a proud farmer. So proud that picking a pea pod off the vine and eating it was a joy. I know that if he hadn't helped with the garden from the beginning, he wouldn't have wanted to eat any peas at all. But since he is a farmer now, he likes to eat what has grown. I am sure many parents can relate. Son One is all about the costumes and has now asked for a pair of overalls so that he can be an official farmer. Gotta find a pair of overalls now.


I have gotten a couple of e-mails about what to do with zucchini. For garden growers, they haven't enough room for all their zucchini plant's bounty. I feel like there is only so much you can do with the green veg. Here is an attempt. A sweet, moist, creamy attempt. We sure did enjoy these. I took a recipe from Gourmet Magazine and did a little nip and tuck and changing of things. Loved the outcome.



2 cups flour
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
2 cups grated zucchini (about 2 medium zucchini)
3/4 cup olive oil
3/4 cup honey
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

Set oven to 350 degrees. Line one muffin pan with paper liners. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, ginger, cinnamon, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Whisk to combine. In a medium bowl, combine the grated zucchini, olive oil, honey, eggs and vanilla. Stir to combine. Add the zucchini mixture to the flour mixture and stir together until flour is completely moistened, but not overmixed.

Scoop cupcake batter into muffin tin. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

Yields 12 cupcakes.

For the frosting:
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter softened
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, add the cream cheese and the butter. With a hand mixer, mix until combined. Add the powdered sugar and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth. Slather on top of cooled cupcakes.