Pineapple Zucchini Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

My sisters in law and myself must all be on the same wavelength....or else we are all suffering from an overload of zucchini. Whichever, I made this little diddy up from a recipe I found on Pioneer Women. It's great because there is NO butter, and only 3 tablespoons of oil...but it's still incredibly moist and tasty! I used fat free cream cheese for the frosting and it was still great.
Oh yes...and the frosting IS purple...per my daughter's request.
Enjoy!
-Matti







Pineapple Zucchini Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
* 1 cup All-purpose Flour
* 1/2 Cup Whole Wheat Pastry Flour (can Use All White Flour If You Don't Have This)
* 1-¼ cup Granulated Sugar
* 1/2 Cup Sweetened Flaked Coconut
* 2 teaspoons Baking Soda
* 1 teaspoon Salt
* 2 teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
* Freshly Grated Nutmeg, To Taste (1/4 To 1/2 Tsp?), Optional
* 1 Pinch Ginger (about 1/16 Tsp Or So), Optional
* 3 Tablespoons Canola Oil
* 2 whole Large Eggs
* 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
* 2 Cups Grated (unpeeled) Zucchini (*see Note)
* 1 (20 Oz.) Can Crushed Pineapple In Juice, Drained (reserve In Case You Need It For The Cake Batter Or The Frosting)
* FROSTING
* 2 Tablespoons Butter, Softened
* 8 Ounces Low-fat Cream Cheese, Softened (can Use Full-fat Cream Cheese)
* 2 Cups Powdered Sugar, Approx.
* 2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
* Splash Of Milk Or Pineapple Juice, If Necessary

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare cake, lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, sugar, coconut, baking soda, salt, and spices in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk.

Combine oil, eggs, and vanilla; stir well. Stir egg mixture, grated zucchini, and pineapple into flour mixture. Batter will be stiff and dry but keep folding it and it will all come together. If it still seems too dry, just add a little splash of the pineapple juice.

Spoon batter into a 13 x 9-inch baking pan coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350° for about 33-35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs and cake is pulling away from sides of pan. Cool completely on a wire rack.

To prepare frosting, combine butter and cream cheese in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Beat in powdered sugar and vanilla just until smooth. Add a splash of milk or pineapple juice if necessary. Spread frosting over top of cake. You can garnish with chopped pecans or walnuts, if desired.

NOTES : If your zucchini are huge, scrape the seeds out of the center before you shred it so it’s not too watery. Also, spread it all out on layers of paper towel to drain it and dry it off a bit. Then measure out 2 cups. Not sure if this is critical though. This recipe makes a very generous amount of frosting.

And this recipe can be turned into a Carrot Cake just by substituting shredded carrots for the zucchini.