Friday 23 May 2014

Another Attempt at a Courgette and Lemon Cake

Over the last couple of years I've had a few attempts at trying to make a courgette cake which was as light and fluffy as a sponge cake, only to produce cakes which tasted good but were heavy and close textured.

When the apple cake I made last week turned out so well, I immediately wondered if it could be adapted to make a courgette cake. I also wanted to have another go at getting a better lemon flavour into a courgette cake than I did with this effort last year, when lemon marmalade was used. I didn't have lemons, but I did have a jar of Sicilian Lemon Dessert Base, bought from the cheap 'end of line' shelf in Tesco.

It's a blend of lemon juice concentrate, sugar, lemon zest, butter and cornflour and is designed to make quick desserts - for example, mix with whipped cream to make a mousse or with cream cheese to fill a pastry case. It sounded perfect for adding intense flavour to a cake batter.

So, I adapted the apple cake recipe a little and produced a courgette and lemon cake which was the best I've made so far! It was much lighter than previous efforts and had a pronounced lemon flavour. It was also quite pretty, with the flecks of courgette peel still visible.

Ingredients
225g SR flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
100g unsalted butter
150g golden caster sugar
150g coarsely grated courgette
2 large eggs
100g lemon dessert base (without this I think I'd use the zest of two lemons and 50g natural yogurt)

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C and prepare a 7" diameter round cake tin.
Sift the flour, baking powder and salt into a bowl and rub in the butter as for making pastry.
Mix in the sugar, then all the other ingredients, and mix to soft batter.
Transfer the batter to the baking tin, level the top and bake for  around 60 minutes, or until a test probe comes out clean and dry.
Cool for 15 minutes in the tin, then move to a wire rack to finish cooling.

I didn't think the cake needed frosting for everyday eating but a lemon glacé icing would pretty it up for a special occasion.
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5 comments:

  1. Unknown24 May 2014 at 09:45

    I can't believe I was lying ion bed last night thinking about adding courgette to a cake this morning and i've bloody well forgotten to do it!!!... yours looks gorgeous, totally moist and delicious!

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  2. Alicia Foodycat24 May 2014 at 10:25

    It looks really good! I wonder if wringing the moisture out of the courgette in a tea towel would help?

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  3. Suelle24 May 2014 at 10:42

    Thanks, Dom! You need a notebook by the bed for these 'just before sleep' ideas!

    In this case I think the lemon dessert base added to the moistness and density, so removing some water from the courgette probably would help, Alicia.

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  4. Snowy25 May 2014 at 14:37

    Having another idea for a courgette cake is great. Yours looks so delicious and moist.

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  5. Anne25 May 2014 at 14:49

    I will have to hunt better in the discarded items area better next time, never spotted that Lemon base before and sounds like a great cheat ingredient! I have yet to still make a courgette cake but liked the slice I bought at a county show last year... I will have to try and save the courgettes in the fridge till I get some lemons in I think!

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