Seasonal local food recipe No.331 – Flora’s famous courgette cake with lime and pistachio icing
This luscious teatime treat was recommended by a friend on our Facebook page in a conversation about courgette olive oil bread. It comes from Nigella Lawson’s classic How to be a Domestic Goddess, and is reproduced here thanks to Irish community gardening guru Dee Sewell of Greenside Up.
Preparation: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves: 8
Ingredients
60g sultanas, optional
250g courgettes (2-3), weighed before grating
2 large free range eggs
125ml organic rapeseed oil
150g caster sugar, sieved
225g self-raising flour
half teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
half teaspoon baking powder
lime curd for filling (buy in shop or make your own)
2 x 21cm sandwich tins, greased and lined
Method
If you’re using sultanas, put them in a bowl and cover with warm water to plump them up.
Wipe the courgettes with kitchen towel (don’t peel them), then grate. The coarse side of an ordinary grater is best as anything finer or smaller can make them mushy). When the courgettes are grated turn them into a sieve over the sink to remove excess water.
Put the eggs, oil and sugar in a bowl and beat until creamy. Sieve in the flour, bicarb and baking powder and continue to beat until well combined. Now stir in the grated courgette and add the drained sultanas.
Equally pour the mixture into the tins and bake for 30 minutes until slightly browned and firm to the touch. While they’re in the oven, make the icing. When baked, leave the cake in the tins on a rack for 5-10 mins then turn out and allow them to cool. Fill with lime curd and ice the top.
Lime and pistachio icing:
200g cream cheese
100g icing sugar, sieved
juice of 1 lime, or more to taste
2-3 tablespoons chopped pistachio nuts
Beat the cream cheese in a bowl until smooth, add the icing sugar, beating well to combine, then stir in the lime juice to taste. Sprinkle the pistachio nuts over the top.
