Allotments 4 All
Produce => Recipes => Topic started by: lottiedolly on August 12, 2010, 09:11:20
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Now, this sounds not right, but i can guarantee is it fab, even my fussy husband loves this and could not wait for courgette season so i can make this.
You do not know that it has courgettes in, and when people eat it, they do not realise that it is there.
It is very very moist and a lovely choclate taste, please give it a try.
Ingredients
120g softened unsalted butter
125ml sunflower oil
100g caster sugar
200g soft brown sugar
3 eggs lightly beaten
130ml milk
350g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
4 tbsp coca powder
450g courgettes - peeled and finely grated
1 tsp vanilla essence
Put the butter, sunflower oil and both sugars in a bowl and beat them together until light and fluffy (i use my food processor). Gradually beat in the eggs and then milk.
Sift together the dry ingredients together and fold them into the mixture. Stir in the courgettes and the vanilla extract.
Spoon the mixture into a baking tin (20x35cm fits well) that is lined with baking paper. Place in over preheated to 190'C or gas mark 5 and bake for 35-45 minutes, (i test by inserting a skewer in to the middle and if it comes out clean it is done).
Cut into squares whilst still warm
I originally found this recipe when i was getting a little desperate over a courgette glut a few years ago and it has turned into a family favourite.
GIVE IT A TRY ;D
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my Dad's in charge of Doing Things With Courgettes- I'll give the recipe to him. (His courgette cake has walnuts in, and I don't like them, but I couldn't tell him, he'd sulk)
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Getting sick of cougette soup here so I'll give this a go lottielady. It sounds delicious.
;D ;D @ Bugloss. We like walnuts so can you flatter him a little and ask for his recipe please?
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i'll try scanning it for you. No charge :D
I think it's in The Allotment Cookbook
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Not in there. I googled it and there are a few to choose from, so don't worry. :) Thanks for the idea anyway.
It's in the oven lottielady.... ;D
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This is my recipe for same:
Cooks in a long loaf tin.
Ingredients:
* 180g cooking chocolate, melted over boiling water
* 2oog flour (either self raising or add 1 teas baking powder)
* pinch bicarbonate
* pinch salt
* 100g sugar
* 3 eggs
* a splash of milk if it looks too thick
* 2 tabs vegetable oil
* 200g raw courgette, weigh it once you peel it and take out the seedy section. Good for using a large courgette that got away from you.
1. Grate the courgette, then enlist the aid of a small child - put the veg in a clean tea towel and over the sink, wring up the tea towel until all the juice has come out of the courgette.
2. Next, in a bowl, combine dry ingredients.
3. Add the eggs and mix to a thick paste.
4. Next, add the melted chocolate and oil, mix well.
5. Add the grated courgette and mix. If it seems a little stodgy, add some milk - it should be slightly thicker than a normal cake batter but not too stiff. It should slide off the spoon, not stick in a big lump.
6. Line tin with baking paper, bake in a preheated oven 180 deg C for about 45 mins. Test with a skewer, it is a moist cake but should be practically dry on the skewer.
Leave to cool, keeps a few days in an airtight container.
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And there is this one too for when you have too much squash or to use up squash flesh frozen...
Recipe: pumpkin chocolate cake
I sort of made this one up but it turned out to be absolutely gorgeous. SO much so that my kids didn't believe there was pumpkin in it! I used those very orange round pumpkins but any type should work. It makes quite a small cake so please adjust the quantities for a bigger one.
* 1 small cup of steamed mashed pumpkin
* 150g cooking chocolate
* 75g butter or marg
* 100g sugar
* 2 eggs
* 75g self-raising flour
* pinch of cinnamon and pinch of salt
Melt the butter untill it is very hot then add the chocolate cut into small pieces. Leave to melt with the heat of the butter then blend till smooth.
Add the eggs and beat them in well, then add the sugar and the pumpkin and salt and cinnamon.
FOLD the flour into that mixture.
Bake in a moderately hot oven, 190-200 degC for about 15-20 minutes, it should still be melting inside.
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How do you prepare flesh for freezing Antipodes? Didn't realize it could be done.
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I make this and tell my daughters they are chocolate brownie and they don''t have a clue it's got courgette in. When i have surplus pumpkin i sometimes use this instead of courgette. The chocolate masks the taste of the courgette and pumpkin.
Apparently chocolate beetroot cake is lovely too but i haven't ever tried it
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The oven is bleeping, so it's ready :)
Neil
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Thanks for the recipe Lottidolly, made it today and it turned out a treat. Not too sweet and not too chocolaty. For me I am going to make a kind of icing or filling with fresh cream, I thought it just needed a bit of a kick with something uggy.
Will never mind now all the courgettes piling up as I will make this time and time again.
Thank you for sharing it, such a relief to know what to do with all those courgettes.
Sinbad
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I am so pleased you enjoyed it, it is very moist and i am glad it is not too sweet, i think it must be an age thing when i shudder at eating something too sugary. I cooked a couple of cakes yesterday and am thinking of freezing one of them today ready sliced so i can just defrost a couple of slices as and when reauired, hopefully it will freeze ok.
;D
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It was even better last night Lottiedolly I had lashings of extra thick cream on it ;D
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Hi Sinbad 7
I froze 2 cakes sliced and then took out a couple of slices to defrost. It worked out really well, made a nice change from freezing sliced courgettes
Kxx ;D
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How do you prepare flesh for freezing Antipodes? Didn't realize it could be done.
Sorry, not Antipodes, but one way we often prepare pumpkin for cakes, pumpkin pie, etc is to microwave them whole with a couple of knife cuts in them to allow steam to escape. It isn't an exact science - I think I allow about 5 mins a lb - but, even with the job of cutting it open and scooping out the seeds, I find it much easier than peeling, cutting up, boiling, etc as the flesh can be scooped out from the inside. If we want to freeze some, we just mash it up and put aside to cool and bag up later. This is OK when you are going to use the cooked pumpkin mashed up.
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you see these rcipes are all very nice but i have about 2 ton of courgettes and even i cant eat that much cake....lol
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But simmo you can do like me and make soup and freeze it for the colder days to come. Then make another 2 cakes and slice it and freeze it like lottiedolly.
You just mustn't give in and let these courgettes beat you LOL ;D
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Thanks SueK. I was under the impression that courgette etc. couldn't be succesfully frozen without cooking first. That info helped me free up some fridge space. ;D
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Thanks SueK. I was under the impression that courgette etc. couldn't be succesfully frozen without cooking first. That info helped me free up some fridge space. ;D
I freeze mine 2 ways
I slice them about 1/4" minimum thickness and blanch them and freeze them in layers so when they go in a freezer bag they are all loose.
I grate them and freeze in thin layers that break up to go in a freezer bag, i then use them to bulk out casseroles, shepherds pies, bolognese etc, can be very versatile
Kxx
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Thanks Lottiedolly. I Will grate them I think. Seems the quickest way. ;D
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Lottiedolly. Thanks for your choc courgette cake. i've made them before but hadn't recipes to hand, so I tried yours, upping quantities by 1/3 to make a really big tin. I also added raisins soaked i hot water, some powdered ginger, and some walnuts. Then I made icing with icing sugar, cocoa, and enough cream. It was delicious!
Peanuts
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GIVE IT A TRY ;D
I did! Made two small ones on Monday and only two small pieces left today ::)
A big thumbs up from the family.......................looks like I'll be baking some more soon.
Might try the other recipes too, to see how they go down.
Thanks lottiedolly.
Ninny
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Yaaay converting the world to chocolate courgette cake, I always justify making it by saying it is healthy as it is part of my 5 a day ;D ;D ;D
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For pumpkin, I just cut into into small chunks and freeze it from raw. Maybe that is a mistake :) But then I just add the chunks frozen to soups, etc and cook them, it seems fine. As long as the recipe calls for them to be mashed up, as their texture does go rather wonky. Of course I imagine that grating could be good too - it's a lot of work though.
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I grated mine in the magimix Antipodes, done in a flash. ;D
I made this cake when the recipe was first posted. I loved it because it is not too sweet, but the rest of the family prefer something sweeter so I froze it. I have to report that it freezes exceptionly well and I think it actually tastes better. (I have a slice after lunch, sometimes with plain soya yoghurt over it. Delicious)
Thanks, lottiedolly ;D
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I take a slice out of the freezer in the morning and take it to work with me as part of my lunch as will have defrosted by lunchtime, it is a way of getting my chocolate fix without being too naughty.
never thought of trying it with yogurt or creme fresh, hmmm new ideas ;D
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I left my Mum & sister in charge of greenhouse & garden while we were on holiday (neither of whom is green fingered - tho i did leave
very simple instructions
Came back to overgrown tomato plants, 6 huge marrows and large slightly stringy french beans. So its roast courgette/garlic soup for me.
Courgette & chocolate cake sound lovely so will make one when next lot of courgettes are ready :)
Debs
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Thanks for the inspiration. I was very excited by the idea of chocolate courgette cake as I often make large cakes for committee meetings and so on but do like a good hit of serious chocolate.
I ended up doing a combination of the two recipes given and it was delish. The wee bit left over is even better today for having matured a bit:-
Chocolate Courgette Cake – best eaten the day after baking
450g courgettes - peeled and grated
180g chocolate (54%), grated
125ml grape seed oil
125g softened butter
360g soft brown sugar
1 sachet vanilla sugar
3 eggs
350g flour
pinch salt
1 sachet baking powder
3tbs 100% cocoa powder
130ml milk
Peel, de seed and grate the courgette then squeeze dry in a clean tea towel.
In the processor, combine the oil, butter and sugar then add the eggs and all the other ingredients in turn till well combined.
Pour into a prepared 10 inch square cake tin and bake at 180C for 45 mins or till done.
Allow to cool in the tin then turn out onto a serving plate and cover with a chocolate ganache.
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Thanks for the inspiration. I was very excited by the idea of chocolate courgette cake as I often make large cakes for committee meetings and so on but do like a good hit of serious chocolate.
I ended up doing a combination of the two recipes given and it was delish. The wee bit left over is even better today for having matured a bit:-
Chocolate Courgette Cake – best eaten the day after baking
450g courgettes - peeled and grated
180g chocolate (54%), grated
125ml grape seed oil
125g softened butter
360g soft brown sugar
1 sachet vanilla sugar
3 eggs
350g flour
pinch salt
1 sachet baking powder
3tbs 100% cocoa powder
130ml milk
Peel, de seed and grate the courgette then squeeze dry in a clean tea towel.
In the processor, combine the oil, butter and sugar then add the eggs and all the other ingredients in turn till well combined.
Pour into a prepared 10 inch square cake tin and bake at 180C for 45 mins or till done.
Allow to cool in the tin then turn out onto a serving plate and cover with a chocolate ganache.
Oh my god, chocolate courgette cake has officially been taken to another level of lushness :-* That sounds seriously good ;D
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It is. My Belgian colleagues loved it and they do know about chocolate.
I'm just educating them about cakes made with veggies but I don't tell them what's in it till after they've eaten it - chocolate carrot cake, chocolate beetroot cake, carrot cake with bananas, spiced carrot cake and so on have all been a revelation for them.
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Hi Obbelix - I would love to try your recipe, what quantity is contained in 1 sachet vaniila sugar & 1 sachet baking powder? sorry if this is a dump question but just about to start making and this threw me a bit
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sorry about spelling meant to say 'dumb' - but if obbelix is not around can any one else help!
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I'm not 100% sure if these are the right size but check out Dr. Oetker product page http://www.oetker.ca/en/product/baking-ingredients/pouch
They list the quantity.
Hope this helps :) let us know how you get on.
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My 'conversion' would be - use self raising flour and a small amount of vanilla essence. I find that continental flours can be quite different and when I bake a cake from a continental recipe, there may be adjustments necessary after the first bake, for example a little extra baking powder in addition to using SRF.
I make my own vanilla sugar by scraping the insides of a real vanilla pod into a jar of sugar. I also add the rest of the scraped pod to the sugar. I have a washed out ready-made pasta sauce jar for this purpose and keep it closed with its original lid. Shaking distributes the black vanilla dots. Smells divine, although it is not the same as a packet of continental vanilla sugar. As the vanilla sugar is being used, the jar can be topped up with fresh sugar quite a few times before the vanilla pod needs replacing.
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Thanks Peanuts, I've just put on half a stone after reading your post ;) ;D.
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Vanilla sugar sachets are 8g in weight and the baking powder 16g.
Sorry for the confusion but that's the way it's sold in Belgium. They tend not to use self raising flour and what there is has onlyhalf the oomph of British formulations so I stick to plain flour.
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Have just grated the courgetttes and popped back in to see if any one was able to help - you didn't let me down! many thanks off to finish cake - will report back!
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Had to 'tweak' abit here and there through not having quite the right quantity of chocolate a bit of sour cream etc. but mm-mm' hey ho the cake is lovely and I am amazed to say 'courgettes what courgettes' if I offer it to any one I will certainly not mentioned courgettes until after they have eaten it.
So thanks to every one contributing to this thread - I now have another recipe for courgettes - now if I can only get my Courgette bread recipe to work - terrible failure yesterday, but tomorrows another day!!
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Thanks for your recipes... they come in the nick of time as I had about 8 large courgettes in the fridge and was becoming a bit courgetted out.
Courgette cake is now in the oven, and smelling lovely. Have just told husband what's in it and he is looking sceptical. But I am confident it will win him over :) :)
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I thought I'd give this recipe a go, and blended my courgette (instead of grating). I'm now worried that I shouldn't have used the 'core' of the courgette, as it seems very watery. Is this normal, or should I give it a squeeze in a tea towel?
I know this is an old topic, I'm just hoping someone remembers!
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I thought I'd give this recipe a go, and blended my courgette (instead of grating). I'm now worried that I shouldn't have used the 'core' of the courgette, as it seems very watery. Is this normal, or should I give it a squeeze in a tea towel?
I know this is an old topic, I'm just hoping someone remembers!
I peel and grate the whole of the courgette, which does include the core and have used large courgettes that have grown marrowlike. You can squeeze out some of the liquid if you desire, but i have normally grated it straight in.
Kx
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Thanks for the speedy response. I'll just bite the bullet and tip it all in! :D
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Grated or blended, you should squeeze out excess moisture.
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Thanks for the reminder schmelda! Feeding the 5000 on Sunday, this cake will be on the table. ;)
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My daughter gave some of Antipodes chocolate courgette cake
to friends and none of them guessed about the courgettes.
They all loved it though!
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Just thinking about making the courgette cake that lottiedolly posted- it sounds good! Just wondering, given the size of baking tin suggested, is it more of a tray bake? The only tin I have that size is a shallow tray- is that right? Don't want an oven disaster!
Thanks,
Caroline
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In the absence of a quick reply, in case anyone wants to know,I went ahead with the shallow tin and it was fine. :happy7:
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I made one yesterday and yes it's very nice and moist and everybody me and he and the smalls loved it.
Nora
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In the absence of a quick reply, in case anyone wants to know,I went ahead with the shallow tin and it was fine. :happy7:
I hadn't got a correct size tin so did it in a deeper, smaller one and it is a bit goey. Mr PKL hasn't detected the courgette yet, it tastes lovely but I must get a bigger tin!