Time to tuck into a yummy zucchini cake
SQUASH and pumpkins have been enjoyed on South African dinner tables for centuries. This is not surprising considering how delicious they are and the ease with which they grow.
Most squash varieties need quite a bit of space in which to grow and have historically only been grown by gardeners with large vegetable gardens. Fortunately through, modern hybridising techniques, new cultivars have been developed that will not take over large areas and can be grown in most gardens. A quick look on the back of the seed packet will tell you if the cultivar is suitable for your garden.
It is advisable to plant your squash seed as soon as all danger of frost has passed. Alternatively, they can be started off early in pots kept in a sheltered, frost-free environment and planted out once the weather has warmed up.
Squash perform at their best in a deeply dug bed that has had plenty of compost and well-rotted manure turned into it. Plant the seed in stations of about 450mm in diameter and 1m apart (less for bush varieties) and grow three to five seeds per planting station.
Keep the soil constantly moist until the seedlings are established, and then water deeply whenever the soil starts to dry out. If possible, water by flood irrigation as this reduces the chances of fungal attack.
Feeding the plants with a balanced fertiliser or liquid manure every few weeks will give you the best results. Because of their trailing habit, most varieties can be trained up trellises. When the fruit gets bigger, give it support so it does not snap off prematurely.
You can look forward to picking your first fruit in as little as three months or less if you are growing baby varieties. With pumpkins and hubbard squash, only harvest once the skin has lost its shine and hardened. It is important to use a sharp knife or pair of secateurs to cut the stem about 50mm above the fruit.
If the stem is snapped off at the base, a wound is opened which will be susceptible to bacterial attack, reducing storage potential. Once harvested, keep the fruit in a cool, well-ventilated place and it should last for a number of months.
There is a huge variety of squash and pumpkin seeds available – visit your local nursery and take your pick! This moist cake is very similar to carrot cake, and with a cream cheese icing is a real winner.
cups flour teaspoons bicarbonate of soda teaspoon baking powder teaspoon cinnamon teaspoon mixed spice teaspoon nutmeg teaspoon salt eggs cups sugar cup vegetable oil teaspoon vanilla essence teaspoon grated lemon zest cups grated zucchini cup chopped nuts (macadamias, pecans, walnuts)
cup raisins
tub cream cheese (250g) cup butter cups icing sugar tablespoon lemon juice Preheat the oven to 180°C. Sift the flour, bicarbonate, baking powder, spices and salt together and set aside.
Add the eggs to a mixing bowl and beat on high speed until light and fluffy. Add the sugar, oil, vanilla essence and lemon zest in batches, beating continuously until well incorporated.
Fold in the zucchini, nuts and raisins.
Butter a large Pyrex dish and pour in the mixture. Bake for 4550 minutes until set in the middle.
Leave to cool before adding the frosting.
For the icing, beat the cream cheese and butter together and gradually add the icing sugar. Add the lemon juice and beat. Spoon over the cooled cake and serve.