TL/DR – Lemon Yellow Squash Bundt Cake. A lovely, lemony buttermilk bundt with a nice tight crumb structure glazed with a zingy, buttery icing. Perfect for late summer brunch or snacks. –
I avoid the word “literally” for a variety of reasons, but it’s appropriate here; the yellow summer squash in the grocery store literally pale in comparison to those you can grow at home. The grocery store variety are usually only slightly more yellow than butter. I never buy them. But this year I decided to grow yellow squash in my garden and the result has been enormous, sunny, bright yellow bombs that grow incredibly fast. A decidedly refreshing alternative to zucchini!
Aside from the obvious grilling option, (see Grilled Squash with Basil Lemon Buttermilk Dressing,) yellow summer squash is perfect for baking. In this case, it adds an amazing yellow color to compliment the lemon flavor.
Start by grating two medium or one enormous yellow summer squash on the finest setting of your grater. Then transfer it to a strainer and strain the majority of the moisture out of it, leaving about 2 cups of finely grated squash.
Whisk together eggs, sugar, vegetable oil, vanilla and the zest of two to three lemons. Add the grated squash to this wet mixture and stir it well. Combine flour, baking soda and salt and mix them well. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones, alternating with buttermilk and folding gently until the batter is nicely incorporated.
Spray a bundt pan generously with nonstick spray, pour in the batter and bake it for 50 to 60 minutes at 350 degrees F. Mine has always been perfectly done at 57 minutes, every time.
Once the cake has baked and cooled, combine melted butter, powdered sugar and lemon juice to form a thick glaze and drizzle it over the cooled cake situated over a cooking rack and a cookie sheet to catch the drips. Once glazed, transfer it to a cake plate. Refrigerate leftovers.
For more delicious squash-based baking ideas, try Zucchini Lemon Layer Cake, Lemony Zucchini Bread, or Summer Squash Quick Bread.
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Lemon Yellow Squash Bundt Cake
A lovely, lemony buttermilk bundt with a nice tight crumb structure glazed with a zingy, buttery icing. Perfect for late summer brunch or snacks.
Ingredients
- 1 large or 2 medium yellow summer squash
- 2 eggs
- 2 c granulated sugar
- 1/3 c canola or vegetable oil
- 1 t vanilla
- Zest of 2 to 3 lemons, about 2 T
- 3 c all purpose flour
- 1 t baking soda
- 1 t baking powder
- 1/2 t iodized salt
- 3/4 c whole buttermilk
- 4 T melted butter
- 2 1/2 c powdered sugar
- 2 to 3 T fresh lemon juice
Directions
- Step 1 Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Using a hand grater, grate the squash on the finest setting onto a plate. Transfer the grated squash to a strainer and drain the majority of the moisture from it. You should have about 2 cups of finely grated, drained squash. Set it aside.
- Step 2 In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, oil, lemon zest and vanilla. Add the drained grated squash to the egg mixture and stir it well.
- Step 3 In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and stir it well with a dry whisk.
- Step 4 Add the flour mixture in thirds to the wet mixture, alternating with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Fold the batter and stir it gently after each addition until just incorporated.
- Step 5 Spray a bundt pan generously with nonstick spray, pour in the batter and bake at 350 degrees F for 50 to 60 minutes. Allow it to cool for 10 minutes in the pan before turning it out onto a cooling rack to cool completely.
- Step 6 Once the cake is cool, whisk together the melted butter, powdered sugar and lemon juice to make the icing. The icing should be relatively thick, so adjust the thickness with more powdered sugar and loosen it a bit with more lemon juice if needed.
- Step 7 Place the cake on the cooling rack over a cookie sheet and drizzle the thick glaze evenly over the top, allowing it to drip down the sides. Once iced, transfer the cooled cake to a cake plate. Refrigerate if you don’t plan to serve it right away and refrigerate leftovers.
