Courgette Loaf Cake

Courgette Loaf Cake recipe

I’m starting the week with one of your five a day. At this time of courgette based abundance, what better way then to include these seasonal green favourites in this Courgette Loaf Cake. There’s only so much soup you can eat, and I’ve yet to master those crisp, deep fried affairs, so as always, cake wins the day.

I’ve never shied away from including vegetables in a cake with carrot and parsnip being two of my favourites. In my mind it makes eating cake all the the more acceptable, even for breakfast, if you’re that way inclined. This one is a beauty; there’s a hint of lemon, a whiff of nutmeg and an elegant smattering of pale green courgette. The loaf cake is soft, not dense but not too light either; the golden crust is sweet and crisp and it’s just crying out for a slathering of soft salty butter. The only arduous bit is grating and squeezing the excess moisture from the courgettes and even that can help with your arm muscles and any pent up aggression. The rest of the recipe involves light stirring only and only two bowls – winning. A big thank you, as always, to the Kitchn for the inspiration.

The original recipe made enough for two loaves. I foolishly halved the recipe below thinking one cake would be enough; I was so wrong.

Look at that beauty of a courgette, gifted to me by my lovely friend Saskia and her impressive veg patch. You’ll need about 250 grams of courgette for this loaf, so I had the rest of it roasted with some cherry tomatoes for supper. I mentioned the loaf cake is lemon scented then forgot to photograph the bloody lemon, classic me.

Make a start by lining your 5 x 9 inch loaf tin and pre heating the oven to 160 degrees fan assisted. Next top and tail your courgette then grate on the coarse side of your grater into a clean tea towel or kitchen paper. Squeeze as much moisture out as you can then put the courgette into a bowl for later.

In a big bowl measure in the plain flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and the zest of the lemon. Give it a little whisk to combine.

In a large jug, whisk the caster and brown sugars with the egg, oil and vanilla.

Toss the grated, drained courgette into the flour bowl then pour in the oil mixture and fold the whole lot together.

The batter will be quite stiff. Scrape it into your lined tin and level the top.

Pop your courgette loaf into the pre heated oven for 40 to 45 minutes. The cake is ready when it’s golden, firm and a skewer comes out clean when poked in the middle.

Leave the cake to cool for as long as you can bear.

Once it’s cool enough to cut into thick slabs, then tuck right in, butter knife at the ready.

All I can say is, if you’ve got any spare courgettes lurking, send them my way; I am now borderline Courgette Loaf Cake dependent.

Lucy x

Courgette Loaf Cake recipe

Makes 1 small loaf

You will just need bowls and a lined 8 inch x 4 inch loaf tin

250g courgette

180g plain flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

Zest of a lemon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg, or a couple of good gratings

1 egg

100g caster sugar

50g soft light brown sugar

90ml oil, sunflower or light olive oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Make a start by lining your loaf tin with a liner, greaseproof paper or buttering it really well and pre heat your oven to 160 degrees fan assisted.

Top and tail your courgette then grate on the big side of your cheese grater. Place the grated courgette onto a clean tea towel or strong kitchen paper and squeeze until you have removed as much liquid as possible. Pop into a bowl for later.

In a large bowl measure out the flour, baking powder, nutmeg and salt and give it a little stir. Add the lemon zest and stir again. In a separate jug measure in the caster and brown sugars, egg, oil and vanilla and give it a whisk to combine.

Fold the drained courgettes into the dry flour mixture then pour in the oil and sugar mixture and fold together until you have a thick batter. Scrape this into your lined tin, level the top, then bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until golden, firm and a skewer comes out clean when poked in the middle.

Leave your loaf to cool on a wire rack. Serve in thick slices, buttered if you like. The loaf will keep, well wrapped, in a tin for up to 3 days.