Paleo Cinnamon Frosted Zucchini Walnut Cake

If you have a garden at home, big or small, I am super impressed and super jealous.

We have flowers.  Glorious flowers.  Tons of them, perhaps even more beautiful than normal.  Dad waters them a little, pulls off the dead flowers, coaxes vines this way and that, and he’s done.  That’s that.  Some days he even skips watering and the flowers live to thrive another day, even in 95 degree heat.

But fruit and vegetables are another story entirely.  They need love, care, special food.  They need to be protected from critters and picked at just the right time.  They need not just a green thumb but like a whole green hand.

And even then, sometimes they turn out, sometimes they don’t.  When you aren’t a farmer (and sometimes even when you are), food just has a mind of its own.

Maybe you have a garden, maybe you don’t.  if you do, I feel like there’s a chance you grow zucchini.  I’ve heard it’s easy to grow, but also that it can get out of hand, so maybe not as easy as it seems.  So if you do grow zucchini, you might have a lot of it, making last week’s recipe and this week’s something you might be interested in.

This paleo cinnamon frosted zucchini walnut cake is based off a recipe I saw on Unique Sweets forever ago.  My mouth watered watching the episode, and I always wanted to recreate the cake.  So I did … kind of, putting my own vibe into it.  One of my favorite things to do in the kitchen.

It’s basically zucchini bread in cake form with tons of toasted walnuts (you HAVE to toast the walnuts – the texture and flavor are increased incredibly).  I baked it in one pan instead of the two the original recipe called for so I ended up with a thicker, more satisfying cake, especially since I didn’t particularly want a layer cake.  And then I made a cinnamon flecked frosting for the top.

I definitely think of this as breakfast cake.  But it could also sounds fabulous with a cup of tea for an afternoon snack.  Or maybe with a scoop of ice cream for dessert.  However you enjoy this, it is sure to be tasty … especially if you make it with home grown zucchini.

Paleo Cinnamon Frosted Zucchini Walnut Cake

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★★★★★

5 from 1 review

• Author: Laura
• Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
• Yield: 10 servings 1x

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Ingredients

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Cake

1 1/3 cup paleo flour blend (2 cups almond flour, 1 ¼ cups tapioca flour, ¾ cup coconut flour)

¾ cup coconut sugar

1 ½ teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground ginger

Zest of 2 lemons

2/3 cup olive oil

3 large eggs

2 cups shredded zucchini

1 cup toasted walnuts

Frosting

½ cup coconut butter

2 tablespoons maple syrup

2 tablespoons almond milk

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon sea salt

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Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Oil a round 8 or 9 inch cake pan and line the bottom with parchment.

Make the cake.  In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder and soda, ginger, and lemon zest until combined.  Stir in the oil, followed by the eggs until a thick batter forms.  Stir in the zucchini and walnuts.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake 45-55 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs.  Cool completely in the pan.

Once the cake is cool, make the frosting.  Melt the coconut butter in a microwave safe bowl in the microwave in 20 second increments, stirring in between, until fully melted.  Stir in the syrup, milk, cinnamon, and salt until combined.  Add more milk as necessary until the frosting comes together and is spreadable.  Spread onto the cake, allow to set about 20 minutes, and serve.

Cake may be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days or in the freezer, wrapped in parchment and foil and placed in a zipper bag for up to 3 months.  Thaw in the microwave about 1 minute or at room temperature about 2 hours.

Notes

Cake recipe adapted from Cake and Spoon via Cooking Channel

• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Cook Time: 50 minutes