Laura Madeleine

IT IS THAT TIME. The courgette tide has arrived and will not abate. The marrows crash through the allotment, like huge, watery uninvited guests at a dinner party. (I end up making spiced courgette chutney every year; here’s the best recipe I’ve found).

I’ve made courgette cake before but wanted to throw in something extra. Enter cardamom. I love cardamom. It adds a wonderful, warm, comforting flavour to cakes.

Since there’s no butter in this recipe (and not much sugar, either), it got me thinking… it’s really sort of a bread isn’t it? And so, before I knew it, I had sliced, toasted, and was eating the cake hot and buttered. Je ne regrette rien.

Courgette & Cardamom Loaf Cake

Ingredients:

• 2 free-range eggs
• 130ml coconut oil (or sunflower)
• 80g caster sugar
• 350g courgette, grated (and peeled, if you’re using a marrow-sized one)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla bean extract (or 1/2 vanilla pod)
• 6 cardamom pods
• A handful of walnuts
• 300g self-raising flour
• Butter, to serve

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180c/350f/Gas Mark 4. Line a 2lb loaf tin.
2. Crack the eggs into a large bowl, and add the oil and sugar. Whisk together until well-combined.
3. Stir in the courgette and vanilla bean extract.
4. Crack the cardamom pods in a pestle and mortar and extract the seeds from the husks. Grind the seeds into a rough powder.
5. Tip into the mixture, along with the walnuts.
6. Add the flour in thirds, folding in gently until combined.
7. Spoon into the prepared tin, smooth over the top, and bake for around 40-45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.
8. Cool on a wire rack. Slice thickly and serve toasted, spread with salted butter.  

Good luck to all your courgette hoarders out there. If you liked this post, why not sign up to my newsletter for more recipes, news and subscriber-only offers?