This traybake is incredibly easy to make and tastes delicious. Better still my children love it and have zero idea that they’re actually eating vegetables!! It’s based on the recipe from page 18 of Nigella Lawson’s ‘How to be a domestic goddess’, with a few tweaks here and there which I think make life easier.
Prepare: 15 minutes
Cook: 25-30 minutes
Serves: 12-18
1 large courgette (300-350g), washed and dried
2 large eggs
125ml vegetable oil
150g caster sugar
Finely grated zest of 1 small lemon
Finely grated zest 1/2 lime
225g self-raising flour
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
For the cream cheese frosting:
100g icing sugar
200g cream cheese
Juice of 1/2 lime, plus some zest to serve (optional)
Juice of 1/2 small lemon
1. Preheat the oven to 180C, gas mark 4 and line a 20x30cm rectangular tin. Coarsely grate the courgette and put in a sieve over the sink to drain a little.
2. Put the eggs, oil and sugar in a bowl and beat well until all the sugar has dissolved and you have a creamy batter. Add the lemon and lime zests.
3. Sieve the flour, bicarb and baking powder into the bowl and mix well to combine, then stir in the courgette. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden and springy to the touch. Leave in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack and leaving to cool completely.
4. To make the frosting, sieve the icing sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the cream cheese and citrus juices. Whisk thoroughly until smooth and thickened. Spread onto the cake. I like to put the cake into the fridge for at least 1-2 hours at this point but you can eat it immediately.
Cook’s tip: the cake keeps really well in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-5 days. I actually think it’s better about 24-48 hours it’s baked.
