Remember being told to eat your veggies growing up? Now you can, happily. This courgette and lemon loaf is the perfect addition to any summers afternoon – I assure you.
You may be a little skeptical and I get it, vegetables in cake… Sounds questionable, I know. However, this cake is very similar to banana bread and carrot cake, perfect to make and share at picnics this year.
If you’re looking for something quick, easy and tasty – this is the must try recipe for today. The courgette add texture, moisture and flavour – all welcome additions, especially when you’re looking for something slightly summer flavoured.
At my work place, last summer we had a courgette and lemon cake which this is inspired by, a little differently created but here we are.
Anyway, lets get started, shall we?
Ingredients:
Cake:
150g butter, room temp.
150g granulated sugar.
3 eggs.
150g self raising flour.
1/2 tsp baking powder.
150g courgette, grated.
2 lemons, zested.
Cream Cheese Icing:
200g butter.
200g icing sugar.
125g soft cheese, cold.
Method:
Before you get started on the recipe, you’ll want to do some prep. I like to start by weighing up all of my ingredients, lining a 9×9 square cake tin with parchment and get any equipment you may need, such as a stand mixer and spatula. Don’t forget to preheat your oven to 180˚c/350˚f.
To get started, take a mixing bowl and place in the butter, sugar and lemon zest, then beating them together until they’re well combined – this usually takes around 5-7 minutes in my personal experience.
Then add in the eggs, beating well in-between each addition. Enable each egg to be fully incorporated into the mix – this doesn’t take too long but its important to prevent the mixture from scrambling.
Give the bowl a good scraping down – this is just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully incorporated.
This is when you can go ahead and add in the grated courgette, then mix until its fully incorporated.
Now add in the flour, raising agent and ground spices and fold them all in just until they start to almost become fully combined.
Give the bowl another good scraping down, just to incorporate any bits that may not have been fully worked in.
Transfer the cake batter into your lined loaf cake tin and smooth/level it out as best you possibly can – this is to ensure consistent baking while in the oven. Then place in the oven and bake it off for 30-35 minutes (or until a tester comes out clean, when inserted into the centre, treat this like a banana loaf or carrot cake – its in the same category when baking).
While the cake is in the oven baking, you can go ahead and make the cream cheese icing.
The icing is really easy and quick. Simply place the butter and icing sugar into a bowl and beat the two together until they’re lighter and fluffier in colour and consistency – this usually has 5-7 minutes but that time may vary for you personally. It should be much lighter in colour – almost white, which is a good sign that it’s ready.
Once you’ve achieved this, y0u can then add in the cream cheese, in a few additions just to make it easy to work into the icing mix. Once all of the cheese has been added, you will find it should have thickened enough to hold its shape and be used – if you find it a little soft then you can chill it in the fridge for a bit before using it.
Now you have your cake baked and icing made, you can finish the loaf.
Simply top the loaf with the cream cheese icing and spread it out to get a consistent layer or you can pipe it on, if you’d prefer.
Finish with a zesting of lemon zest – use as much or as little as you’d like.
Allow the buttercream to firm up then enjoy. This can be enjoyed with hot or cold drinks, morning or night – whenever or whatever suits you.
That’s all for today guys, I hope you enjoyed. If you did, don’t forget to share this recipe with your family and friends and enjoy it. I’ll be back soon with another blog post and YouTube video, so join me then. In the meanwhile, don’t forget to check out my other social’s – Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube. The YouTube tutorial will be linked down below.
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