Italian courgette cake with lemon glaze

An outstanding courgette cake baked with olive oil and packed with walnuts, cinnamon and ginger—full of autumn flavours. Then comes the lemon glaze, which adds a wonderful burst of freshness and just the right amount of zing. The glaze complements the cake beautifully. The recipe makes a generous cake and, thanks to the courgette, it stays wonderfully moist and fresh for several days. You will not really taste the courgette itself—its flavour is very subtle, and even the grated strands blend seamlessly into the crumb. It is a healthy and rather unusual addition that works brilliantly in baking.

For reference, 1 cup = 250 ml.

Ingredients for the italian courgette cake:

• 1 cup walnuts
• 2 cups plain flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• a generous pinch of salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup caster sugar (or slightly more, to taste)
• 1 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2½ cups grated courgette, including the skin, grated on the fine or medium holes of a grater (approximately 2 small courgettes)

All ingredients should be at room temperature.

Spread the walnuts on a flat baking tray lined with baking parchment. Toast them for 10–12 minutes at 180°C, stirring frequently, until golden brown. Leave to cool, then finely chop with a knife or in a food processor.

Line the base and sides of a 23 cm round cake tin with baking parchment. Sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt and spices. Set aside.

Place the eggs and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer.

Beat on high speed for several minutes until the mixture becomes pale, thick and fluffy. Add the vanilla extract and beat briefly to combine. Gradually pour in the olive oil while continuing to whisk. The mixture will lose some volume—this is perfectly normal. Add the sifted dry ingredients and mix very briefly, only until combined. Fold in the grated courgette and chopped walnuts using a spatula. Transfer the batter to the prepared tin and level the surface.

Bake at 160–170°C for approximately 60 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. The baked cake should feel springy to the touch and begin to pull away slightly from the sides of the tin.

Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for about 15 minutes, then release from the tin and drizzle with the lemon glaze.

Ingredients for lemon glaze:

• 1 cup icing sugar
• 3–4 tablespoons lemon juice

Place the icing sugar and lemon juice into a bowl and mix with the back of a spoon until smooth. If the glaze is too thin, add more icing sugar. If it is too thick, add a little more lemon juice until the desired consistency is reached. Pour over the cooled cake before serving.

Enjoy!

Recipe source: Gina DePalma, Dolce Italiano: Desserts from the Babbo Kitchen.