Pineapple Zucchini Sheet Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

In my blog reading this past week, I kept coming across this delicious zucchini sheet cake. The original recipe is posted on Tasty Kitchen. After the fourth time of drooling over it, I decided to make it. This cake is great for a party or crowd as it makes a large cake. And it is surprisingly low in fat compared to most other sheet cakes. It uses low fat cream cheese for the frosting and only 3 tablespoons of oil in the cake. Don't get me wrong. After eating three pieces, I won't call it diet food. But if you only have a small piece, it can be a sensible dessert. I substituted half carrots and half zucchini and it was delicious. The leftovers went to my husbands work this morning.

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
Chopped Walnuts Or Pecans (optional)
Preparation Instructions
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, I spread it all out on layers of paper towel to drain it and dry it off a bit. Then I measure out 2 cups. Not sure if this is critical though. Nuts can also be added to the cake batter if desired. 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.