I LOVE courgettes. My kids do not! What are we to do when they are abundant, in season and there is a glut of them in my fridge?
Enter the courgette cake, the game changer, the converter.
At first I was met with up-turned noses, frowns and comments that suggested I was perhaps mad for entertaining the idea of
a) putting courgette in a cake
b) that they would eat it
c) they would actually like it
It was even suggested I make two cakes (one being something totally different for when they didn't like it!).
Well, haha, I got the final laugh when they were gobbling down their second slice and asking for more. Despite sounding smug it does actually make me heart happy to see my kids enjoy the food we make and it helps knowing it is a good healthier alternative. Added plants for fibre, no refined sugar to reduce the blood glucose spike, dairy and gluten free so less chance of inflammation.
For this bake we used Doves Self Raising Gluten Free flour as it was in the cupboard and to be honest I was feeling lazy (couldn't even bring myself to ground some almonds kind of lazy!). But it does work well with ground almonds so you could substitute if your a bit more motivated than I was. This would increase the nutritional profile and be a less processed option.
The ginger in this cake is quite substantial but it adds a nice warm spiciness which I was craving on the dark, drizzly day we baked. Reduce it if you don't want it too spicy.
And through my daughters encouragement she generously poured over a zesty lemon icing which was delicious but not necessary if wanting to reduce sugar. An alternative would be to use coconut sugar (or agave nectar) and lemon juice dissolved over a low heat and poured on when warm.
Play around with the flavour combos it really is a versatile base recipe... maybe go double lemon, adding zest to the bake instead of ginger. Or both! Try cinnamon, lime or cacao! Ooo I may have to make another one right now...
Courgette and ginger cake.
Plant- based. Vegan. Gluten, dairy and refined sugar free.
Ingredients
220g Self raising gluten free flour (we used Doves)
90g coconut sugar
2tsp baking powder
3 tbsp ginger powder
1 flax egg*
4 courgettes grated and excess water squeezed out (approx 200-250g courgette)
75ml melted coconut oil
30ml plant milk (we used oat)
60ml maple syrup
pinch of salt
Method
Preheat oven to 180C (gas 4) and line a loaf tin with parchment.
Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl and stir well together.
Grate the courgette and lay on a clean tea towel, squeeze over the sink to remove excess liquid.
In a separate bowl combine, courgette, oil, milk and syrup. Mix well.
Combine wet to dry ingredients and stir together.
Pour into your loaf tin and bake for approx 50 minutes or until a knife comes out clean (If it starts to darken too much before cooked cover with parchment to avoid burning).
Leave to cool slightly before removing from the tin.
Enjoy warm or cool (if you can resist) and add a drizzle **.
* Flax egg = 1 tbsp ground flaxseed mixed with 3 tbsp water. Let sit for 15 minutes before using.
** For the drizzle we mixed juice of half a lemon with approx 100g organic icing sugar until it was pourable.
Hope you enjoy. Why not give me tag on instagram @madewithloveandplants and hashtag #madewithloveandplants I'd love to see what combos you come up with :)