Mini Courgette Cakes

Carrot cake is a common coffee shop favourite up and down the U.K. Everyone seems to have accepted that carrots can be enjoyed in cake form. And yet when I mention courgette cake I often get some funny looks. But why should it be any different? It's just another root vegetable after all. 

My family have been enjoying courgette cake for a few years now so this is a tried and tested, fool proof recipe! However in the past I have always made it in a bunt tin and this weekend I decided to use a new mini sandwich tin with individual loose bottoms. 

Ingredients 

150ml vegetable oil

250g self raising flour

50g  pistachios, roughly chopped plus extra for decoration

3 eggs

175g caster sugar

1tsp bicarbonate of soda

225g courgette, grated

125g icing sugar 

Method 

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Grease the tin well (very important) and lightly dust with flour - tap out the excess. 

2. Chop the pistachios or pulse in a food processor and grate the courgettes. 

3. Whisk oil, eggs, sugar and vanilla extract together in a large bowl. Sift in the flour and bicarbonate of soda and stir well to combine. Finally, add the grated courgette and pistachios. 

4. Spoon the mixture into the individual tin moulds and bake in the oven for 20 minutes. 

I filled the moulds to the very top so when they were baked it created cakes with domed tops, similar to muffins. If I was to make mini Victoria sponges, or cakes which traditionally have a flatter top, then I would only half fill the moulds. 

5. Once cooled remove the cakes from the tin. Then drizzle icing over each cake and sprinkle with chopped pistachios while the icing is still wet. 

I have been thinking about what other root vegetables could be incorporated into baking. Obviously ginger cake is another common flavour and beetroot goes really well in chocolate brownies. I wonder what sweet potato or parsnip would taste like in a cake? Maybe that's one for a future experimental bake!

On another note, The Great British Bake off has started again - my TV highlight of the year! Crazy to think I almost applied to be on this season. After the first episode I've decided that Richard is my favourite, I think he is going to do very well! I'm hoping I'll get some inspiration from the Bake Off for some future bakes so stay tuned!

Hannah xx