A twist on the classic pumpkin roll, this zucchini roll comes together surprisingly easily. Made with a zucchini-flecked cake rolled around a sweet cream cheese filling, this zucchini roll makes a perfect summertime dessert and a great way to use up excess zucchini from your garden.
My oven broke on Friday.
After meticulously designing my first rendition of the batter for this zucchini roll I peeked through the glass to confirm the oven temperature (jelly roll pan full of hopeful batter in hand) and realized something was definitely wrong. Within a few hours (and after a substantial amount of googling on my husband’s part as well as a visit from my dad) it was determined–my oven was dead.
Since the majority of my baking for this blog is done Friday evening through Sunday (and I already had a full Sunday planned), this incident caused more anxiety and frustration than an oven should ever be able to incite in a human being, and the search for a new one began immediately. Then, when Zach and I finally decided on an oven that we liked (shiny, self-cleaning, stainless steel), we were told it couldn’t be delivered for three weeks.
Three weeks was simply not a feasible option for us, so fortunately (thanks to the powers of the internet) we were able to find the same oven a just a bit further away, deliverable before the end of this week.
After being told about the three-week wait time, several days without an oven suddenly didn’t seem so bad after all.
So, now I’m waiting for my new oven (which I’m quite excited about) and am very, very fortunate that my parents and their fully-functioning oven live only 15 minutes away from me.
This roll took too many attempts to get just right (I think I made it half a dozen times) and I am very grateful that my parents (and bake-happy siblings) allowed me to commandeer their counter and oven-space for such a long period of time. In the end, they were rewarded with this zucchini roll, which was eaten quite gratefully and quickly, and I hope considered a fair trade.
The filling was fairly easy, a subtle variation of my well-loved cream cheese frosting. You can’t have a zucchini roll without this, zucchini and cream cheese go together perfectly, much like carrot cake and cream cheese frosting.
With oversized zucchini overwhelming gardens and farmers markets everywhere this time of year, it’s nice to be able to convert this beautiful, emerald-skinned squash into something other than the typical bread or grilled/sauteed dish. This zucchini roll offers a nice twist, a sweet, slightly cinnamon-y, zucchini flecked cake rolled around a cream cheese filling.
I highly recommend that you make more than one.
More Recipes to Try:
Enjoy!
Ingredients
Roll
- 3 large eggs
- ¾ cups (150 g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (50 g) brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp olive oil or other cooking oil
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- ¾ cups (95 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 1 cup (185 g before blotting) grated zucchini absorb excess moisture by patting with paper towel before using
- Powdered sugar for dusting
Cream Cheese Filling
- 6 oz (170 g) cream cheese softened to room temperature
- 6 Tablespoons (85 g) butter softened to room temperature
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups (190 g) powdered sugar
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F (175C)
- Line 15x10 jelly roll pan with aluminum foil and spray with baking spray
- In KitchenAid (or with hand-mixer) beat together eggs, sugars and oil on medium speed until well-combined (about 1 minute).3 large eggs, ¾ cups (150 g) granulated sugar, ¼ cup (50 g) brown sugar, 1 Tbsp olive oil
- Stir in vanilla extract.½ tsp vanilla extract
- In separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.¾ cups (95 g) all-purpose flour, 1 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp cinnamon
- Gradually stir flour mixture into egg mixture with spatula.
- Fold in grated zucchini.1 cup (185 g before blotting) grated zucchini
- Spread batter evenly into prepared jellyroll pan and bake on 350 for 13-15 minutes (edges may just begin to turn slightly golden).
- While the cake is cooking, lay out a clean baking towel at least as wide as your jellyroll pan and dust generously with powdered sugar (this will help keep the cake from sticking to the towel while you are rolling it up).Powdered sugar
- As soon as cake is done cooking, remove from oven and invert immediately onto prepared dishtowel.
- Remove jellyroll pan and very carefully peel foil away from cake.
- Immediately, carefully, roll cake, starting with one of the 10" sides, using the towel to help you roll the cake but taking care to keep the towel from being rolled into the roll.
- Allow cake to cool for one hour.
Cream Cheese Frosting
- In mixer, cream together cream cheese and butter.6 oz (170 g) cream cheese, 6 Tablespoons (85 g) butter
- Stir in vanilla extract.½ tsp vanilla extract
- Gradually stir in powdered sugar, pausing to scrape down sides of mixer until all sugar is incorporated.1 ½ cups (190 g) powdered sugar
- Carefully unroll the cake.
- Evenly spread frosting over surface of cake (be sure to go to the edges) and then carefully re-roll.
- Cut and serve. If not eating immediately, store in refrigerator in airtight container (or covered with plastic wrap) until ready to eat.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Mir
That same thing happened to me a couple of months back, Sam! Exact same. Right down to my dad coming over to try and fix it and me using my parents’ oven a few minutes away. That’s so funny!
This cake roll looks perfect. It would definitely be devoured immediately over here!
Sam
Haha! That is funny, glad you are back to baking (and I can’t wait to be, myself)!
Christin@SpicySouthernKitchen
This is so, so awesome! Love that you made a cake roll out of zucchini. Have to try! 🙂
Sam
Thank you, Christin!
Cailee
🙁 I’m so sorry about your oven!! Seriously, that would be SO frustrating!!! …but on the bright side you’ll be getting a new one soon! Glad that things still worked out and you were able to make this delicious recipe!! Looks SO good! YUM 🙂
Sam
It definitely is frustrating! Thank you, Cailee!
Beeta @ Mon Petit Four
What a great idea, Sam. I would have never thought to sub the zucchini in, but it’s so perfect. And your roll looks gorgeous. I’m sorry your oven broke, but at least now you get a nice and shiny new one! 🙂
Sam
Thank you so much, Beeta! And yes, I can’t wait for the new one to (finally) get here!
Jessica @ Sweetest Menu
Oh my! I can tell you that an event like that would have put me into a spin! I made a batch of cupcakes on the weekend, carefully spooned out all the batter and then somehow dropped the whole tray all over the floor. Waah! A blogger’s life I tell you. Meanwhile, how awesome is it when you are recipe testing and you finally hit the winner! Your zucchini roll looks perfect!!! I have always wanted to master the cake roll.
Sam
Ah! I would have wanted to cry! Thank you, Jessica, they’re not too difficult, really 🙂
Kelly - Life Made Sweeter
This cake roll is beautiful, Sam! Love the idea of adding zucchini! So creative! Sorry to hear about your oven but yay for getting a new one!
Sam
Thank you, Kelly!
Nagi@RecipeTinEats
Woah! Most delicious transformation of zucchini EVER!! Stunning! 🙂 (PS worth the pain. I hear you!)
Sam
😀 Thank yo so much, Nagi!
Harriet Emily
This roll is sooooo beautiful! I love the addition of zucchini, it’s such a great choice for summery cakes! The cream in the middle looks so perfect and mouthwateringly tasty too 🙂 mmm!
Sam
😀 Thanks so much Harriet! 🙂
Marsha @ Marsha's Baking Addiction
This looks so delicious! The cream cheese filling looks heavenly 🙂
Sam
Thank you, Marsha!
Medha @ Whisk & Shout
I’ve been there! Ovens are so unreliable and I’m glad you were able to get one you liked in a decent amount of time instead of having to settle for one you didn’t just to get it quickly! Thanks for the commitment to this roll, it turned out amazingly 🙂 Definitely worth the efforts!
Sam
Sooo frustrating, isn’t it!? Thank you, Medha! 🙂
Katalina@ Peas and Peonies
Hi Sam, I truly, truly love this roll, it looks so moist and flavorful, and that cream cheese frosting is abundant in a good way!
Sam
Thanks so much, Katalina! 🙂
Ana | Espresso My Kitchen
Bummer about your oven, but yay on getting a nice new one 🙂
This looks soo delicious! i’m loving zucchini right now on anything! and that filling, umm Yum!
Sam
🙂 Thank you, Ana!
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice
What a gorgeous roll, Sam! I’m in awe of your creativity! I’ve never thought to make a cake roll with zucchini before. This looks absolutely delicious!
Sam
Thanks so much, Gayle!
Adina
One cannot have too many zucchini recipes during this time of the year. The roll looks great despite the difficulties. Cool that you have the patience to try a recipe 6 times to get it right. I don’t, 3 would be the maximum and that quite rarely. The worst is, when I cook or bake something for the first time, find it absolutely amazing and can’t wait to eat it again. Then I make it again and cannot understand what I actually liked it in the first place. 🙂
Sam
I agree with you completely about not having too many zucchini recipes! Thank you, Adina!
Emanuele @ guyslovecooking
I can only imagine the frustration. Especially if all was planned in. This is a classic example that is not always bad to have the parents living nearby 🙂
Good job, considering what you had go through 🙂
Sam
Haha it definitely worked out here. Thanks, Emanuele!