coconut zucchini cake with lemon buttercream frosting

Yep, I turned 25. I also recently discovered wrinkles around my eyes and a few gray hairs. Getting old kind of sucks. I decided that to celebrate this birthday I would make something a little more gourmet and fancy for my adult palette. No funfetti cake this year {although, lets be honest, I'll never be too old for that}. I dug into my mom's recipe book and found this recipe. It's definitely a special cake and everyone seemed to love it! You don't need to be celebrating to bake this cake - it's kind of a celebration in itself. 

Here's what you'll need...

Cake

3 cups grated and peeled zucchini

1 cup ground walnuts

1 cup flaked coconuts

4 eggs

1 cup vegetable oil

1 tablespoon vanilla 

2 1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

3 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 

Frosting

1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

1/2 tsp vanilla 

4 cups confectioners sugar

Here's what to do... 

Cake

Grease and flour two 9 inch baking pans. Combine zucchini and coconut, set aside. Beat together the eggs, oil, and vanilla. Beat in sugar. Gradually add dry ingredients. Stir in zucchini mixture. Pour into pans. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes. 

Frosting 

Beat butter until creamy. Add remaining ingredients. 

What is everyone up to this weekend? Baking cake? I highly recommend it. My weekend involves a Friday movie night {Sarah's Key.. anyone seen it?}, a barre class, a bit of work, and a Sunday trip to Ikea. Even though I was only in the office three days this week, it's seemed like a long one. Happy Weekend ... xo!

P.S. I'm over on Christin's blog sharing 5 seriously random facts about me. If you're interested in learning.. go over and check them out!