Courgette & lime cake

You won’t taste the courgettes in this loaf cake – mixing them into the batter creates a tender sponge that carries the citrus flavour and contrasts with the nutty topping.

SERVES 12 PREP 15 mins COOK 50 mins-1 hr EASY V ❄ sponge only

200g light brown soft sugar

200ml vegetable or sun lower oil, plus extra for the tin

4 eggs

175g self-raising lour

½ tsp baking powder

75g shelled pistachios, ground

1 medium courgette (about 150g), grated

2 limes, zested and juiced

For the frosting and decoration

275g soft cheese

100g icing sugar

1 lime, zested and juiced

25g shelled pistachios, roughly chopped

Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/ gas 4. Oil a 900g loaf tin and line with baking parchment. Combine the sugar, oil and eggs in a large bowl and mix well. Fold in the flour, baking powder and ground pistachios. Squeeze out as much moisture as you can from the grated courgette using your hands (don’t worry about squeezing out every drop), then add this to the bowl along with the lime zest and half the juice, and mix to combine.

Bake for 40-50 mins until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Check the cake after 30 mins – if it’s looking too brown, cover with foil for the remaining cooking time. Leave to cool in the tin for 20 mins, then transfer to a wire rack, poke a few holes in the top using a skewer and pour over the remaining lime juice. Leave to cool completely. Once cool, will keep frozen for up to a month. Defrost fully before decorating and serving.

For the frosting, tip the soft cheese into a bowl, sift over the icing sugar, pour in the lime juice and mix to combine. Spread this over the top of the cooled cake, then sprinkle with the chopped pistachios and lime zest. Will keep chilled in an airtight container for up to three days.

PER SERVING (12) 433 kcals • fat 28g • saturates 6g • carbs 38g • sugars 26g • ibre 2g • protein 7g • salt 0.5g