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Lemon Zucchini Mug Cake

Lemon Zucchini Mug Cake
Zucchini is both a blessing and a curse during the summer growing season. It grows quickly and easily, but it grows so quickly that it is easy to be overwhelemed by your crop if you don’t keep eating your way through them. This Lemon Zucchini Mug Cake is a quick and easy to use up a little bit of leftover zucchini or to make a small=batch cake when you want to bake, but don’t want to heat up the kitchen by turning on the oven. The cake is fluffy and light, with a bright lemon flavor and a touch of spice.

The recipe makes enough for two cakes and you’ll need to use 10-12 ounce mugs to get the best results. You can use larger mugs, however the cakes will not rise up to the rims when baked in larger mugs. The cakes are made with fresh lemon juice and zest, a bit of buttermilk, vanilla and plenty of zucchini. I added a pinch of allspice to give the cake a little bit more complexity. The batter is divided into two mugs and microwaved until it is fluffy and set. The cakes have a texture that is very similar to that of a sponge cake, since they are essentially steamed in the microwave. The cakes should be served directly from their mugs and can be enjoyed plain or with a drizzle of lemon glaze (lemon juice + confectioners’ sugar) or vanilla ice cream.

As you can see in the picture, I used golden zucchini in this mug cake instead of more-common green zucchini. There is very little difference in flavor between the two types of zucchini. The main difference is that the yellow squash will leave yellow flecks in your cake, while the green squash will leave green flecks. The yellow flecks tie in well with the lemon element of this particular cake, but feel free to use any zucchini that you have on hand.


Lemon Zucchini Mug Cake
7 tbsp all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1 large egg
2 tbsp butter, melted and cooled
3 tbsp light brown sugar
1/4 cup shredded zucchini, packed
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp buttermilk
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and allspice.
In a medium bowl, whisk together egg, melted butter and sugar. Stir in zucchini. Stir in half of the flour mixture, followed by the lemon juice, buttermilk and vanilla extract. Stir in remaining dry ingredients and whisk until batter is uniform. Divide evenly into two 8 or 10-oz coffee mugs.
Microwave on medium for 60 seconds, then stir the batter with a fork. Microwave on high for an additional 90-120 seconds, or until cake is firm and set.
Allow to cool for about a minute, then serve as-is, drizzled with lemon glaze (lemon juice + confectioners’ sugar) or topped with ice cream.

Serves 2.

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2 Comments
  • Kris
    June 15, 2015

    Wait – where is the zucchini in the recipe?

  • lynn
    June 24, 2015

    This looks like a brilliant way to use up that extra zucchini 🙂 Thank you for sharing it.

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