Courgette Loaf

By: Pete on 19:10:00

I was going through the house, working out what I needed to use up before I went off for my training camp on Sunday (no baking for a week...how will I cope?) I had some courgettes in the fridge, so I went though my recipe books, and found a courgette cake/loaf recipe in Mary Berry's Baking Bible. I had everything I needed (with a couple of minor substitutions to make up volumes), so whipped it up on a Thursday evening (while I was waiting for another brioche to prove).

The recipe is very simple, to the point of "throw it all in a bowl and stir", adn despite the vegetable content it's not good for you (sugar and oil aplenty)...it is, however, amazingly delicious. It also apparently freezes well, and as it makes 2 loaves I've frozen one, and will see what it tastes like when I get back. I've never really been a cake-freezing person before (they rarely last long enough!). I think this would be equally nice with carrot as well (or a mix, which I may try when I inflict this on work!)

Courgette Loaf - Recipe

• Pre-heat oven to 160'C
• Grease and line 2 2lb loaf tins

Ingredients

• 3 eggs
• 250ml sunflower oil
• 350g caster sugar
• 350g grated courgette (I used a food processor, which is nice and quick)
• 320g plain flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 175g raisins or sultanas
• 150g walnut pieces

1) Put the courgette, sugar, flour, baking powder, bicarbonate, cinnamon, sultanas and walnuts in a large bowl and mix
2) Put the sunflower oil and eggs in a large jug, and mix until well combined

3) Add the liquid to the bowl, and mix until everything is combined, and there is no dry mixture left

4) Split the mixture between the two loaf tins (I weighed them to get it even), and level them off (the mixture should be rather wet)

5) Place in the oven for an hour

6) Remove to a wire rack. You will need to be careful getting them out of the tins (a pallette knife to help release them, and use the lining paper to lift)

7) Once fully cool, to freeze wrap in a foil or a plastic bag, and place in the freezer...