Grandma's Zucchini Cake

I had a lot of zucchini grow in my garden this summer. This is one of the recipes I made. I LOVE this cake! I've already made it twice and it comes out so moist and delicious! I found this recipe on simplyrecipes.com.

The frosting amount assumes that you are going to keep the cake in the pan and only frost the top. If you plan on removing the cake from the pan and frosting the sides, you'll want to up the frosting amounts.

Makes about 20 pieces.

Cake:
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
3 eggs
2 cups white, granulated sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups (from about 3 to 4 regular-sized zucchini) grated, unpeeled zucchini (place grated zucchini in a sieve and press out some of the excess moisture before measuring)
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1/2 cup golden raisins (optional)

Frosting:
3 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/2 to 2 cups of powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9x12 or 9x13 baking pan (I personally used a bundt pan).

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and baking powder. Set aside.

In a mixer, beat the 3 eggs on high speed until frothy. Lower the speed and beat in the sugar, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture, a third at a time. Stir in the zucchini and chopped nuts and raisins, if using.

Pour mixture in the baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes (1 hour if using a bundt pan). Remove from oven and let cool completely before frosting. (While the cake is cooling, let the frosting's cream cheese and butter sit at room temperature to soften.)

To make the frosting, beat together the cream cheese and butter. Add the powdered sugar and beat until smooth.

Frost the cake and serve. Store covered with aluminum foil.