Clandestine Courgette Cake

The first meeting of the Brussels Clandestine Cake Club was last Saturday. It was really brilliant! There was lots of tasty cake, new friends and a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon. We also got to take some cake home with us.

The cakes at the Brussels CCC meeting. We got to take looooots home!

I made this courgette and lime cake, inspired by our trip to Galway at Easter.  And, if you eat enough of it, it could* count as one of your five-a-day!

Clandestine Courgette Cake

for the cake:
60g raisins, optional (but tasty) (I didn't use them)

250g courgettes (2-3), weighed before grating (I only needed one)

2 large eggs

125ml vegetable oil (I don't like oily cakes, so I used melted butter)
150g caster sugar
225g self-raising flour
half teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
half teaspoon baking powder
A 20cm tin, lined with greaseproof paper

If you’re using raisins, put them in a bowl and cover with warm water to plump them up.

Wipe the courgettes with kitchen towel (don’t peel them), then grate. The coarse side of an ordinary grater is best as anything finer or smaller can make them mushy). When they’re grated turn them into a sieve over the sink to remove excess water.

Put the eggs, oil and sugar in a bowl and beat until creamy. Sieve in the flour, bicarb and baking powder and continue to beat until well combined. Now stir in the grated courgette and add the drained raisins. Pour the mixture into the tins and bake for 30mins until slightly browned and firm to the touch. Leave in the tins on a rack for 5-10mins then turn out and let cool until you’re ready to fill and ice.

for the lime curd filling (it’s very easy to make)
Makes 350ml - I mistakenly added all of this to the cake and it was a bit too wet, so go easy. The rest of it can easily be consumed with a spoon, Nigella-style in front of the fridge:
75g unsalted butter
3 large eggs
75g caster sugar
125ml lime juice (of approx 4 limes)
zest of 1 lime

Melt the butter in a heavy-based saucepan, add all the other ingredients and whisk to a custard over a gentle heat.  Let cool before filling a far – or a cake – with it.  Keep in the fridge.

For the icing:
200g cream cheese (I'd go for 150g, and I used mascarpone)
100g icing sugar, sieved
juice of 1 lime, or more to taste
2-3 tablespoons chopped pistachio nuts

Beat the cream cheese in a bowl until smooth, add the icing sugar, beating well to combine, then stir in the lime juice to taste.

 

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmMMmmmmmm!

The recipe is from here.

*It couldn't unfortunately. I checked. Cake-based vegetables do not count towards your five-a-day :-(