Tom Kerridge's courgette cake recipe

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

Method

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Once cooked, leave the cake to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
6. To make the icing, in a bowl, whisk the icing sugar, cream cheese and lime juice together until smoothly combined.
7. 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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