Secret Cake

Last night I made Secret Cake. So what makes it a secret cake? Well, it’s got vegetables in. Now, most people recoil in horror when you tell them this; but think more carrot cake, less spinach quiche with 200grams of sugar added.

The magic ingredient is courgette, which is a bit of a bonus as last year I had a glut of the green buggers until the rest of the vegetable garden caught up in September. I’m anticipating this being the case again this year, so the more recipes to use them up, the better.

If you’re still not convinced, remember courgette doesn’t really taste of anything, it just takes on the flavours it’s cooked with: here cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar. And, yes, when you cook it for a long time it does go quite soggy. Whilst not nice for dinner, it’s awesome for making a moist cake.

It also benefits from cooking at a low temperature for a long time, but my oven proved too cool, and after 90 minutes I bunged lovingly placed it in a warmer oven, which gave it an amazing nutty caramel tasting crust.

Whilst it’s perfect to have by itself, the book I got the recipe for suggested butter, treating it like a tea bread. Though I’m thinking a light zesty icing, drizzled over the top, would go better. The sharpness of limes with the nutty flavour would work a treat. However, I’m also of the impression that everything taste better with citrus added.

Any suggestions on how to chop these a bit quicker?

I was in two minds about whether to bake it for the market – the cost of the walnuts is the thing putting me off (and then the chopping of them), but it was a success in the office, and so easy to assemble, that I think it’s worth the cooking time. Only question now is to ice, or not to ice?

Tags: nutty, quick fix, vegetables