It started with a gigantic zucchini, surreptitiously hidden amongst many ordinary-sized zucchinis in my mother’s garden. Once it emerged, we were left wondering how something so enormous could successfully remain in hiding for so long. Was something supernatural at play? Not wanting to take any chances, my mother not-so-surreptitiously unloaded the mysterious monster onto me, where it not so much sat as embodied all of the remaining space in my fridge with its girth.
When life – or family, in this case – hands you a gigantic zucchini suspected of having supernatural powers, breaking it down becomes somewhat of an urgent matter. So I made zucchini bread. And it was awesome. Enjoyed warm, right out of the oven, it was even supernaturally-awesome. Airy, delicately spiced, buttery….so it was true! There was loveliness inside even the scariest monsters.
Once refrigerated, the bread took on a denser, cakier texture and it occurred to me that it might function as a delicious layer cake. (I happen to like my cakes on the denser side, provided there is some light and fluffy frosting accompanying the layers!) So, enter this zucchini-spice cake, which is composed of two zucchini bread layers separated and surrounded by a vanilla-nutmeg cream cheese frosting that you won’t be able to stop eating. If you can, I’d be worried that this recipe unknowingly transmitted some supernatural zucchini powers to you, dear eater! And what a pickle we’d be in then.
