Lemon Blueberry Zucchini Cake

I'm going to open this post up with a disclaimer..
*DISCLAIMER*- I have no idea what I am doing 95% of the time. The other 5%, I have minimal idea. This reflects in my baking (& pretty much everything else I do). Proceed with Caution. :)

For whatever reason, my favorite time to research new recipes is when I have about 12 other important school assignments I should be working on. Nothing gets my creative juices flowing quite like a desire to do anything except what I should be doing. As a result, I have now created a recipe for Lemon Blueberry Zucchini Cake (or bread, or something. I'm not so good at this classification thing). Here we go...

If you trust me, and my recipe building skills, this will be your finished product. A SUPER moist, and lemony-fresh zucchini cake. I not only made a dozen muffins, but also a small loaf with this recipe, so its probably just about enough to make ~16 good-size muffins.

First thing you want to do is gather your ingredients. I like to do this first because I'm a goon and often forget to add things if I don't. I also often to forget to add things if I do. The trend here seems to be that I'm forgetful. I forgot to add baking powder instead of baking soda and originally forgot the blueberries too.. So this picture is a terrible representation of what ingredients you actually need. Don't be an Annie, or a typical man.. read the instructions listed at the end of this before you start.

Step 1 is to grate some zucchini. Pictured here are 3. Do NOT grate 3 zucchinis, unless of course you really enjoy grated vegetables. In that case, grate away. You will only need 1 small squash (Yup, zucchini is a squash).

Exhibit A: 2 leftover zucchinis, and plenty of the grated stuff. My zucchini was probably about 8 inches long, and that'll get you more than enough. If you wait til summer to make this, and use your garden behemoth zucchinis, you're on your own there. These things are tiny ones from Aldi.
*IMPORTANT* Spread the zucchini out in a thin layer between some paper towels and squeeze out a ton of the water. The more water you squeeze out, the better. Too much water will cause your finished product to collapse.

You're also going to need some lemon zest. The zest of one lemon will do. I don't care what kind. Also you're gonna need the lemons, so don't throw those out, not that you would anyways.

So, once you follow all the directions listed below, you'll be ready to pour your batter in the cupcake liners. You can use your batter dispenser as shown above... Oh, you don't have one of those? Hmm.. You should probably find yourself a fiance as sweet as mine then (just not mine, then we can't be friends.) But really, just use an ice cream scoop, or spoon, or whatever floats your cake batter boat (Say that 3 times fast).

Pictured here is the result of my 11th silly mistake in this process. I didn't mix the blueberries into the batter before I poured it, soo I sprinkled them on top. This does not work as well, so please mix them in as stated in the directions.. which you should follow.

And again with the final product. I ate entirely too many.. probably because I convinced myself that zucchini, lemon, and blueberry were perfectly acceptable excuses. Don't do this to yourself. You WILL regret it. Sorta.

Here are those really important instructions:

Lemon Blueberry Zucchini Cake  

Yields ~ 16 Muffins

What You Need:
2 C. Flour                    2 Eggs                                           Zest of 1 Lemon
2 Tsp. Baking Soda     1/2 C. Canola Oil                           1 C. Zucchini
1 1/3 C. Sugar             3 Tbsp. Lemon Juice (~1 Lemon)   1 C. Powdered Sugar  
Pinch of Salt                1/2 C. + 1 Tbsp. Milk                  ~1/2 C. Blueberries            

What To Do:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and place liners in muffin/cupcake pans.
2. In one bowl, whisk together Flour, Baking Soda and Salt until combined.
3. In a separate bowl, mix together Sugar, Eggs, Oil, 2 Tbsp. of Lemon Juice, 1/2 of your lemon zest & 1/2 C. Milk. Save the extra milk, lemon juice & zest for the glaze.
4. Slowly pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients mixing while pouring. Continue to mix the batter til there's no clumps and it is well combined.
5. Mix the Zucchini and Blueberries into the batter, just until evenly dispersed throughout. (Don't be like me and forget to do this. It won't work out in your favor.)
6. Pour your batter into lined cupcake pans (or a cake pan or bread pan if you prefer). Fill 3/4 of the way to make sure you get bigger muffins. (Bigger is better).
7. Bake your muffins for Approx. 15 minutes. Times WILL vary. If you dried your zucchini really well (i.e. Salad Spinner), it probably won't take as long. If you use one pan instead of muffins, it will take longer. Watch the cake from outside the oven as much as possible. When the tops of them finally dome like they're supposed to and they're golden brown, they should be about done. A toothpick test will confirm!
8. While your muffins are baking, combine Powdered Sugar, Lemon Juice, Zest, and Milk in bowl to create a glaze. It should be pretty thin. If its not, add a little more milk.
9. When your  muffins are done, pull them from the oven, and drizzle glaze on top while they're still warm.
10. Bon Appetit!