Little Italian Courgette Cakes

This recipe is from my Able & Cole calendar and can also be found on their website although the version on the calendar includes cinnamon & baking powder.

I pretty much followed the recipe as stated with a few small changes:

• Omitted the raisins.
• I found that 1 mug of  grated courgettes was too much so I only 3/4 of a mug which equates to one small courgette.
• Only baked the cakes for 23 minutes, as opposed to 30 minutes - 30 minutes and they would have been very dry.
• Forgot to set aside some chopped nuts for sprinkling on top. Instead, once they were out of the oven I waited for them to cool (about 10 minutes) and then topped with honey and whole almondsThe result was very satisfactory. Although these cakes don't look or sound like the are going to be particularly appetising, they are surprisingly tasty. Even the children, who were skeptical, decided that these were pretty good. The predominant flavour is the lemon, followed by honey. The nuts add nice texture, as well as some additional nutrients, while the courgettes simply add moisture and a little bit of colour, rather than any discernible taste. 

Overall, I would recommend this recipe.

The version below contains my modifications.

Little Italian Courgette Cakes

Makes 12 fairy cakes

75ml olive oil100g sugar

2 large eggs

1 lemon, zest and 3 tbsp juice

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

250g plain white flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1/4 tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

3/4 mug of grated courgette (approx one small courgette)

A handful of almonds, roughly chopped plus 24 kept whole  for topping the cakes with afterwards.

2 tablespoons honey

• Heat oven to 180˚C/Gas 4. 
• Whisk olive oil, sugar, eggs, lemon and cinnamon together until light and fluffy. 
• Sieve the flour, bicarb, baking powder and salt. Gently fold through. Carefully swirl in courgette and nuts – save a few for the tops. Don’t over mix. 
• Divide between baking cases.  
• Bake for 25 minutes or until cooked through.
• Allow to cool.
• In a small pan, warm up the honey and mix in the whole almonds until coated.
• Spoon the almonds onto the tops of the cakes and drizzle with the remaining honey.
• They’ll store for 2-3 days in an airtight container.