Tom Kerridge's courgette cake is a really fun bake and the results are just brilliant - moist, zesty and delicious.
Courgettes are brilliant for baking with, which might come as a surprise if you haven't used them before. They add a really moist fluffiness to a sponge recipe, but the flavour is so mild that you don't get a 'vegetabley' taste at all. If you grow your own courgettes, you will know how easy it is to end up with a surplus of this vegetable. Well, this is a great way to use a few up. You don't even need to be eating it straight away - the sponge (uniced) will freeze perfectly for up to three months.
Ingredients
- Sunflower oil spray
- 250g half-fat margarine
- 100g caster sugar
- 4 tbsp granulated sweetener
- 3 large free-range eggs
- 250g self-raising flour
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- 1 vanilla pod, split and seeds scraped
- Finely grated zest of 3 limes (zest of one to be reserved for finishing)
- 200g courgettes, grated
For the icing:
- 100g icing sugar
- 1 tbsp light cream cheese
- 1 tbsp lime juice
WEIGHT CONVERTER
Method
- Preheat the oven to fan 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Spray a 900g (2lb) non-stick loaf tin with a few sprays of oil.
- Using a stand mixer or electric hand whisk and large bowl, cream together the margarine, caster sugar and sweetener until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda and ground cardamom together over the mixture, add the vanilla seeds and lime zest and fold in gently, using a spatula, until just combined. Lastly, fold in the grated courgettes.
- Spoon the cake mixture into the prepared tin and gently level the surface. Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 50–60 minutes. To test, insert a skewer into the middle of the cake: it should come out clean; if not give it a little longer.
- Once cooked, leave the cake to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
- To make the icing, in a bowl, whisk the icing sugar, cream cheese and lime juice together until smoothly combined.
- Spread the icing on top of the cake and sprinkle with the lime zest. Cut into 8 thick slices to serve.
Top tip for making Tom Kerridge's courgette cake
Tom says: 'Like the carrots in a carrot cake, courgette keeps this delicious cake lovely and moist. A light cream cheese and lime icing provides a refreshing contrast. The cake will keep in the fridge for a couple of days – just bring it to room temperature before serving to enjoy it at its best.'
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Tom Kerridge is a celebrated English Michelin-starred chef who has been dazzling the professional cooking scene since 1991. His French, British, and fusion style cooking has created delicious, much-loved recipes over the years that have earned his pub multiple Michelin stars. In 2005, he and his wife Beth Cullen-Kerridge opened their pub The Hand & Flowers, which gained its first Michelin star in its opening year. By 2012, it received its second Michelin star and Tom has since opened a restaurant in London at the Corinthia Hotel London in 2018, as well as The Butchers Tap, butchers, and pub all under one roof. His work within television has continued also to grow over the years featuring in our favourite cooking shows such as Saturday Kitchen, Great British Menu, Top of the Shop, How To Lose Weight For Good, and BBC2's Food and Drink. His meals are ultimate comfort delicious food and we have some of his best recipes for you.
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