This is a mouth-watering and satisfying cake with a moist, gooey texture. Don’t be put off by the courgette; it adds texture and moisture to everyone’s guilty pleasure! The nuts, although not essential, definitely jazz up the cake even further, adding a delicious crunch. Enjoy this cake with or without the icing on top, depending on how rich you want the final product to be.
Ingredients
Cake
· 250g plain flour
· 375g caster sugar
· 65g cocoa powder
· 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
· 1 tsp baking powder
· 1/2 tsp salt
· 1 tsp ground cinnamon
· 4 eggs
· 350ml vegetable oil
· 340g grated courgette
· 90g chopped walnuts
Icing
· 50g margarine, melted
· 45g unsweetened cocoa powder
· 75ml milk
· 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
· 450g icing sugar
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180 C / Gas 4. Grease and line a 20x30cm baking tin.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, cocoa, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
3. Add the eggs and oil. Mix well.
4. Fold in the nuts and courgette until they are evenly distributed.
5. Pour the whole mixture into the prepared tin.
6. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes in the preheated oven, until a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean and the top of the cake springs back to touch.
7. Cool the cake in its tin for at least half an hour, then remove it from the tin and leave to cool completely on a cooling rack.
8. For the icing, beat together the margarine and cocoa until combined. Add the milk and vanilla and beat until smooth. Mix in the icing sugar gradually until the mixture is smooth and soft but fairly thick. Add more or less icing sugar or milk, to achieve the desired consistency.
9. Spoon the icing over the top of the cake, levelling it out with a palette knife or the back of a large spoon.
10. Eat and enjoy!