Hello dear reader,
As I mentioned on Saturday, we are well and truly in courgette season, with plants starting to fruit prolifically. If you are a gardener that means you have a courgette-supply seemingly without end and are looking for more varied ways of eating them. If you are not a gardener then mid to late summer is the time to buy courgettes as they are full of flavour and very cheap.
Today’s recipe is another quick and easy one, this time for a moist and lightly spiced Courgette Loaf. This is delicious for afternoon tea with lashings of butter. It is also healthy enough to justify serving for breakfast, either freshly made for a leisurely breakfast on a day off, or made the day before for a rushing-out-the-door grab-something busy day.
Spiced Courgette Loaf – Recipe
– 75 g golden caster sugar
– 3 eggs
– 4 tbsp oil (I use cold-pressed rape seed oil)
– 225g wholemeal flour
– 1 tsp baking powder
– 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
– 1 tsp ground cinnamon
– ½ tsp ground allspice
– ½ tsp freshly ground nutmeg
– 50g chopped nuts (mixed or your favourite variety)
– 25g sunflower seeds
– 25g pumpkin seeds
– 2 courgettes, grated
1) Preheat oven to 180°C. Beat together eggs and golden caster sugar. Then beat in the oil, one tablespoon at a time.
2) Sieve together flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg.
Save the remnants in the sieve to sprinkle over top of loaf before it bakes.
3) Beat flour mix into egg mix one tablespoon at a time. Then mix in the nuts, seeds and courgette.
4) Spoon into a silicone loaf tin (if using a metal tin, you will need to line and grease it). If you like a very crispy top, sprinkle over the flour remnants left in the sieve. Bake your courgette loaf for about an hour until golden on top and cooked through (a skewer inserted in centre comes out clean).
Allow to cool slightly and then turn out onto a cooling rack to cool further. Slice and serve.
This Spiced Courgette Loaf is delicious served warm with lashings of butter melting on top.
I also love having Spiced Courgette Loaf for breakfast to start my day full of flavour.
Enjoy!
Vohn
x
P.S. I am entering my Spiced Courgette Loaf into a few blogger challengers…
AlphaBakes run by Ros at The More Than Occasional Baker and Caroline of Caroline Makes. Caroline is hosting this month and the letter of the month is “P” for pumpkin seeds.
Eat Your Greens run by Shaheen at A2K – A Seasonal Veg Table whose challenge is to use any green veg. Like me Shaheen is a great believer in eating seasonally, so courgettes are perfect for this challenge.
Love Cake run by Ness at Jibber Jabber UK whose theme this month is any cake with savoury ingredients. Perfect for this loaf which includes courgettes, nuts and seeds. Luckily Ness says she turns a blind eye to whether a bake is truly a cake or a bread, because I’m not entirely sure which this loaf is!
Simple and In Season run by Ren Behan and this month hosted by Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary.
Tea Time Treats run by the very lovely Karen at Lavender and Lovage and Janie at The Hedge Combers. Karen is hosting this month and her theme is Picnic Food. I really enjoy this Spiced Courgette Loaf on a picnic with a flask of tea!
BakeFest run by Vardhini over at Cooks Joy and this month guest hosted by Beulah at Full Scoops
Mmm sitting here typing I can almost smell this cake! Love the spices you’ve used in it and my mouth is watering! Thank you for sharing with Simple and in Season!
My pleasure Elizabeth. I do so love cooking with the seasons – food is so much tastier and packed full of nutrients. 🙂
We have gone through the courgette glut and are now into raspberries and runner beans Vohn! Your loaf looks and sounds amazing. Karen
Thanks Karen. I have to admit to actually buying some courgettes to re-make this loaf as it is so delicious! I envy your raspberries – they are fantastic this year but I just don’t have the space to grow them – thank goodness for “pick your own” farms!
Well it hasn’t got stong bread flour in it but it does have baking powder, sugar and eggs so I guess that’s a cake to me! A great way to use up a courgette glut. Thanks for linking up.
Haha – thanks Ness – cake it is then! 😉
I always have a supply for courgettes in my kitchen too! I might make this next weekend! It looks delicious Vohn!
Thanks Dini. It is a scrumptious way to use up a little of that seemingly-never-ending-supply at this time of year! 😉
This looks very healthy, and I like the fact that you could have it for breakfast or afternoon tea! Thanks for entering Alphabakes.
My pleasure Caroline. I tend to have it freshly baked for afternoon tea and toasted next day for breakfast. 🙂
Your spiced courgette loaf is far more healthier than my Courgette Chocolate Cake. I love that it is loaded with seeds too. I am tempted to make this for my father (who won’t touch the raspberry brownies I made yesterday), as he likes cakes that are not overly sweet plus your right plenty of courgettes coming our way. Thank you for sharing with #EatYourGreens.
Thanks Shaheen. Yes it is a great bake for anyone who only likes a hint of sweet and it’s still packed full of flavour! 😉
Looks delicious! I’ve never tried courgettes, but I am pinning right now.
Oh wow Michelle – you must try courgettes soon – they are delicious, especially smaller ones. You are in for a treat! 🙂
Loving this recipe Vohn! Always on the look out for Courgette recipes and I’d happily wolf this loaf down, looks heavenly!
Great to hear it Lou! I think anyone who grows courgettes always needs extra recipes as they fruit so prolifically. 🙂
I like the ingredients in this loaf and also that it is not too sweet. I could have a slice right now.
Thanks for popping by Simona! That is exactly why I love this loaf too. 🙂