Posted By Laura in #New!, Family Recipes, Featured | 5 comments

Courgettes in chocolate cake. I know. It’s weird. In fact, my children think it’s a frankly horrific suggestion.

So I didn’t tell them.

And the echoes of joy as the experience of this moist, dense, rich-yet-light chocolate cake hit their brains was enough to tell that hiding green vegetables in delicious cake can only ever be a Very Good Thing.

This is by far and away the very best chocolate cake I have EVER made. Ever.

Seriously.

And it’s so dead simple to make, too.

Go on, try it – you’ll never regret it.

And just trust me on the courgette thing.

What you need:

• 250g Plain Flour
• 375g Caster Sugar (though I frequently use granulated, which works just fine)
• 65g cocoa powder (the better the cocoa, the better your cake)
• 2tsp bicarb of soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1tsp ground cinnamon
• 1tsp mixed spice
• 4 eggs
• 350ml melted butter (vegetable oil is easier, and works perfectly, I just prefer butter)
• 400g courgettes (usually two; I just use up all of the two as long as they’re approx the right weight), grated.
• optional – 90g chopped nuts. Walnuts and hazelnuts are equally as delicious, but if you don’t have any it works beautifully without as well.

What You Do:

1. Preheat oven to 180 C / Gas 4. Grease and either line or flour a 20x30cm baking tin (I use a small roasting tin).
2. In a mixing bowl combine all the dry ingredients – flour, sugar, bicarb & baking soda, salt and spices. Mix well.
3. In a measuring jug melt your butter (or simply measure your veg oil), then add the eggs and beat with a fork to combine.
4. Add the eggs/oil mix to the dry ingredients, and beat until well mixed.
5. Add the grated courgettes (and the nuts if using) and fold in well until the whole mix is combined, gloopy and very very chocolatey-looking.
6. Pour the mix into the prepared tin, and bake for 50 minutes (check it doesn’t need an extra 10 minutes; 50 is plenty for a fan oven)
7. Leave to stand for ten minutes, run a spatula around the edges to loosen the sides, then tip onto a cooling tray.
8. You can ice at this stage, but we find it’s perfect without.
9. Slice into squares (makes 24), and store in a tin (delicious with morning coffee, afternoon tea… or in bowls with custard on top…)