I’ve once again dived into the foodie world of BBC Good Food to find some inspiring recipes for my Friday Challenge. I originally was going to make a Twix and Banana cake from a cookbook I have at home but my dad gave me a big bag of vegetables from his garden including some big courgettes so I decided to incorporate those into this weeks cake challenge.
Look at the size of it! I only needed half for my cake
I’ve always loved the idea of using vegetables in baking, I’ve seen beetroot and chocolate cakes, parsnip breads, potato scones and now courgette cake. The recipe can be found following ‘this link’. The recipe had good reviews with some good tips on how to prepare the courgettes however when I made it I don’t think it worked quite to plan.
The recipe calls for you to put the butter, sugar, grated and drained courgettes and other ingredients into a bowl and beat until a creamy batter, but mine became really wet and the butter separated from everything else. I decided to drain some of the liquid out of the bowl and carried on beating but it was still far too wet so in the end I just added the flours anyway and carried on.
A slice of the cake – you can see the courgette but it’s not a strong taste!
This is probably why my cakes are quite flat but they actually tasted amazing and the texture of the cake was crumbly yet moist. The lemon flavour is quite intense because of the glaze and the lemon in the icing but it wasn’t too sweet against the actual cake mixture. I think I will definitely make this again however next time I will make sure I have drained my courgettes completely to avoid another soggy batter mix. I also have a feeling that home grown courgettes would be more watery than shop bought but that’s just a theory.
What I have learnt about cakes:
When adding something like a vegetable or fruit to a cake mixture the level of moisture can effect the texture of the crumb, too wet and you end up with a very dense moist cake. Drain the grated courgette as much as you can! I also learnt that adding a glaze to the cake as it cools can really lift the flavour balance and add more moisture (not that this cake needed that!)
Ok so next week would normally be my own recipe but I’ve been enjoying making cakes and I still have loads to learn so I’m going to continue it for another month! The not only can I really practise the cake I want to make, I can also take my time with it and make it perfect!
Posted by Jennifer M. on August 26, 2012 at 3:07 pm
It’s strange that the recipe had you add the zucchini (courgettes) with the other ingredients. I would have mixed the wet ingredients first, then added the dry ones, then folded in the courgette last. And you really do need to drain them for at least a half-hour – maybe even use a 1/2 tsp of salt to draw the water out.
Still, I know that cake was moist and delicious. Your photos make me want to make a cup of tea and have a slice!
Posted by veghotpot on September 5, 2012 at 8:44 am
Hey, I agree I really thought I should have beaten the butter and sugar first like in other cake recipes, then added the flours and eggs then the courgette. I’m going to try making it again but adding things in different orders to see what results I get
Posted by An Unrefined Vegan on August 26, 2012 at 8:18 pm
Looks super yummy!
Posted by veghotpot on September 5, 2012 at 8:48 am
It really was
I thought the lemon icing glaze would be too sweet but it worked nicely
Posted by emmycooks on August 27, 2012 at 6:28 am
I have a zucchini (corugette, I should say, that’s so much cuter!) waiting to become a lemon-glazed cake myself! Yum. I can’t decide whether to take your advice and dry it well or not, though–yours looks so good!
Posted by veghotpot on September 5, 2012 at 8:46 am
How did your cake go? Did you drain the courgette (Zucchini
) the end result was delicious though and courgette and lemon flavours work really well! x
Posted by emmycooks on September 5, 2012 at 7:31 pm
My zuc bread was great, I need to make another! I didn’t drain it & didn’t find it too moist.
Posted by veghotpot on September 6, 2012 at 10:48 am
Thanks for letting me know
I’m definitely going to try making this cake again!
Posted by * Vegan Sparkles * on August 27, 2012 at 6:47 am
YUMMM!!! That looks incredible!
Posted by veghotpot on September 5, 2012 at 8:46 am
Thanks! I think I’m enjoying making cakes abit too much
Posted by Allison on August 27, 2012 at 7:22 am
This looks amazing!
Posted by veghotpot on September 5, 2012 at 8:47 am
Cheers, it did taste soo good! x
Posted by Blackberry Bakewell Cake (BBC Goodfood recipe): Friday Challenge! « veghotpot on September 9, 2012 at 10:10 am
[...] adding fruits such as berries in the middle of the cake mix makes it moist but not as wet as the courgette cake I previously attempted. I was also really happy with the effect of the flaked almonds, I have loads [...]
Posted by loustar02 on September 12, 2012 at 4:32 pm
I have a great recipe for courgette cake topped only by brown sugar rather than icing. There is very little liquid other than the courgette which I think works well. I might just have to make it again soon so we can compare!
Posted by veghotpot on September 13, 2012 at 9:22 am
oo that sounds really nice! I like the idea of a brown sugar topping x
Posted by Coconut, Cherry and Dark Chocolate Cake « veghotpot on September 16, 2012 at 6:16 pm
[...] got the idea for the brown sugar topping from a comment left by Loustar on my courgette and lemon cake and I loved it, so much nicer than a sweet icing (which this cake definitely did not need) and a [...]