Zucchini Olive Oil Cake
and a few thoughts on perfectionism in baking and how to fix sinking cakes
Part of being a recipe developer/food stylist/photographer is making food look beautiful and most of the time, I love that part of my job. I love adorning layer cakes with flowers or scooting cookies around until their edges are perfectly round and their centers are perfectly pillowy. But, as I filter through my Instagram feed, full of perfectly styled, perfectly lit desserts, I sometimes have to remind myself that those are not necessarily a representation of real baking.
You hear often that social media isn’t a picture of real life and I think that the same rings true in the kitchen. Some of the best recipes are ugly. Bowls of lentils and pea soups are flavorful and nourishing while not being especially photogenic and some of the best dessert recipes I’ve tried have come out of picture-less cookbooks, passed down from mothers and grandmothers and great-grandmothers—cookies with misshapen edges, brownies and bars that aren’t symmetrical, and pies with imperfect crusts.
I think it can be disheartening sometimes, to try a new recipe from a food blog or newsletter or magazine, replete with expertly-styled photos only for your final product to turn out a little less perfect than the final images. When that happens, remember that the person behind the recipe has probably spent a lot of time baking and re-baking the recipe to make sure it looks perfect, used professional lighting make sure the final product sparkles just right, and edited the photo to erase any imperfections.
So this week, I’m here to remind you that even professionals make ugly food too. This zucchini cake was delicious—sticky and moist with hints of cinnamon and nutmeg. It is filled with grassy olive oil and a garden of shredded zucchini making it perfect for all day snacking. But it sank a bit in the middle and wasn’t very cute to look at, so instead of re-doing it until it was perfect, I thought we’d chat about cake sinkage (it happens to the best of us) and give you some tips for preventing it and dealing with it when it happens.
to prevent your cakes from sinking…
The biggest reason why your cake might sink is that it’s not quite done in the middle. As a cake bakes, steam and chemical leaveners work together to lift a cake while the structure builders (gluten and egg proteins) work on creating a stable foundation through the baking process. When you pull a cake out of the oven that isn’t quite baked all the through, it may look level right away, but as it cools, you’ll find that the structure wasn’t complete, causing a collapse.
Dense, high-moisture cakes are the most prone to sinking as they need much longer baking time for all of the liquid to evaporate and zucchini bread is one of the worst culprits since the zucchini itself adds extra moisture.
Adjust the baking time. When baking high-moisture cakes, it’s important to go low and slow. If you bake at too high of a temperature, the outside of the cake will cook quickly creating a skeleton frame, but the inside will still be a puddle. I like to bake high-moisture cakes at 325° F for a longer bake time to help a cake bake more evenly throughout.
Spread it out. I’ve made this cake many times in a sheet pan instead of a cake pan and it’s baked beautifully every time. Spreading batter into a sheet pan or even a 9x13” cake pan can help your cake bake more evenly.
Temp it. When in doubt, you can always use a thermometer to check your cake for doneness before pulling it out of the oven. Cakes are done between 200-210° F.
And if you find yourself with a sunken cake, you can always fill it with extra frosting. and remember that even professionals make ugly cake sometimes too.
zucchini and olive oil cake
makes one 9” round cake, or one half sheet pan
Ingredients:
250 g (2 cups) all purpose flour
65 g (just over 1/2 cup) whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
170 g (3/4 cup + 2 tbsp) granulated sugar
170 g (3/4 cup + 2 tbsp) brown sugar
3 medium eggs
150 g (3/4 cup) olive oil
56 g (1/2 cup) sour cream
260 g shredded zucchini, moisture squeezed out
Procedure:
Preheat the oven to 325° F and line your baking pan of choice with parchment paper. Set aside.
Shred the zucchini and place it in a paper towel-lined colander to drain while you prep the recipe of the ingredients.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together the sugars and the eggs until light and frothy. Stream in the olive oil, whisking until homogenized, followed by the sour cream.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until no dry pockets of flour remain. The batter will be pretty thick—this is okay because the zucchini will add quite a bit of extra moisture so it will all balance out.
Squeeze any excess liquid from the shredded zucchini and fold it into the cake batter until evenly dispersed. Spread the batter into an even layer in your prepared cake pan.
Bake for 65-75 minutes if baking in a 9” cake pan, and for 30-40 minutes if baking it in a sheet tray, checking it every 10 minutes to adjust as needed. Let the cake cool completely in the pan before slicing and serving.
To serve, dust with powdered sugar, top with mascarpone frosting, or just a dollop of cream.