diff --git a/core/src/main/scala/kafka/server/metadata/ZkMetadataCache.scala b/core/src/main/scala/kafka/server/metadata/ZkMetadataCache.scala
index 9159b79188..6df38fc812 100755
--- a/core/src/main/scala/kafka/server/metadata/ZkMetadataCache.scala
+++ b/core/src/main/scala/kafka/server/metadata/ZkMetadataCache.scala
@@ -68,16 +68,18 @@ class ZkMetadataCache(
   extends MetadataCache with ZkFinalizedFeatureCache with Logging {
 
   private val partitionMetadataLock = new ReentrantReadWriteLock()
-  //this is the cache state. every MetadataSnapshot instance is immutable, and updates (performed under a lock)
-  //replace the value with a completely new one. this means reads (which are not under any lock) need to grab
-  //the value of this var (into a val) ONCE and retain that read copy for the duration of their operation.
-  //multiple reads of this value risk getting different snapshots.
-  @volatile private var metadataSnapshot: MetadataSnapshot = MetadataSnapshot(
+
+  private val EMPTY_METADATA = MetadataSnapshot(
     partitionStates = mutable.AnyRefMap.empty,
     topicIds = Map.empty,
     controllerId = None,
     aliveBrokers = mutable.LongMap.empty,
     aliveNodes = mutable.LongMap.empty)
+  //this is the cache state. every MetadataSnapshot instance is immutable, and updates (performed under a lock)
+  //replace the value with a completely new one. this means reads (which are not under any lock) need to grab
+  //the value of this var (into a val) ONCE and retain that read copy for the duration of their operation.
+  //multiple reads of this value risk getting different snapshots.
+  @volatile private var metadataSnapshot: MetadataSnapshot = EMPTY_METADATA
 
   this.logIdent = s"[MetadataCache brokerId=$brokerId] "
   private val stateChangeLogger = new StateChangeLogger(brokerId, inControllerContext = false, None)
@@ -456,6 +458,7 @@ class ZkMetadataCache(
 
         metadataSnapshot = MetadataSnapshot(partitionStates, topicIds.toMap, controllerIdOpt, aliveBrokers, aliveNodes)
       }
+      metadataSnapshot = EMPTY_METADATA
       deletedPartitions
     }
   }