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COURGETTE AND ORANGE LOAF

There are still plenty of courgettes around. My daughter-in-law gave me some from her allotment which gave me the idea for this cake. It’s beautifully moist, and can have a cream cheese topping to make it more special if you wish. You will need a 2lb loaf tin measuring approx 20 X10cm / 6 X 4in across the base.

INGREDIENTS

  • 350g (12oz) unpeeled courgettes
  • 200ml (7 fl oz) sunfl ower oil
  • 3 large eggs
  • 225g (8oz) soft light brown sugar
  • 1 large orange
  • 110g (4oz) self-raising wholemeal fl our
  • 175g (6oz) self-raising white fl our
  • 1 level teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
  • 1 level teaspoon baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 25g (1oz) chopped walnuts
  • Topping (optional)
  • 75g (3oz) low fat cream cheese
  • 25g (1oz) butter
  • 110g (4oz) icing sugar
  • 1 tablespoon orange juice

METHOD

Line the tin with greaseproof paper and grease it. Heat the oven to Gas 4 / 180 C

Wash and coarsely grate the unpeeled courgettes, place in a clean cloth and squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Put them into a large bowl

Whisk together the oil, eggs and sugar with the grated zest of the orange and pour into the courgettes.

Sift in the flours, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and nutmeg, and add the bran left in the sieve.

Mix all together, adding the chopped walnuts. Put into the tin.

Bake for approx 1 hour or until golden brown and fi rm in the centre. (ovens vary).

Leave for a few minutes in the tin before turning out onto a cooling tray.

For the topping: In a bowl, soften the cream cheese with a wooden spoon and beat in the butter.

Gradually beat in the icing sugar and spread over the cold cake. Mark a wavy line decoration with a fork. Small segments of orange can be placed down the centre.

This keeps for a few days in an airtight tin.

Note, I find the loaf-shaped paper cake tin liners are really useful for lining these tins. They are obtainable from Lakeland Ltd.

Posted in Recipes on Oct 01, 2009