This is what I did:
- Sifted 150g flour (white & wholemeal), 50g ground almonds, 20g cocoa (should have been 40g but annoyingly that's all I had in the house), 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp baking powder and a pinch of salt into a bowl.
- Made a well in the centre and mixed in 40 ml sunflower oil, 1.5 tsp cider vinegar and 180g water.
- Added 180g grated courgette and mixed well.
- Spooned mixture into 12 cupcake cases (I wasn't sure how well these would rise, but 10 cases would probably have been better.
- Baked at 180C for 20 minutes then turned on to a rack to cool.
- Melted 100g 70% chocolate (I used Divine given the unsurety of G&B's possible dairy content in their dark chocolate) with 2 tbsp date syrup and 2 tbsp water.
- Stirred well and spread this on top of the cupcakes.
These turned out slightly more puddingy than cakey, but were nonetheless very good. They were certainly appreciated by more than just my vegan colleague at work. No-one guessed that there were courgettes in the cake, though I suspect that they had a hand in giving the cake its moist (or was that stodgy?) quality. I've made a chocolate and date syrup topping before to good effect. Despite replacing the butter with water this time around, I was pleased with how well it worked and will be using this again..
Choc, that's a useful thing to have in the repertoire - thank you! If you have too many courgettes, please send them to us, as our chickens love them! :D
ReplyDeleteI'm with you on the vegan baking front. It always seems to fly in the face of logic when it all works out for the best lol
ReplyDeleteGreat looking cupcakes - I think I should come and work with you ;0)
every year I intend to experiment with courgette cake, but never quite get round to it and the chickens end up with the surplus, so this could be the year i try a new recipe, it sounds delicious.
ReplyDeletePuddingy sounds like a good quality to me Choclette. It makes me want to try them immediately :)
ReplyDeleteAdding the courgettes like this would add sweetness and moisture to the finished cake, what a great idea! I love vegan cakes,they rule out a lot of allergies - egg,dairy, and can be made gluten free easily too. Everybody needs a good one in their repitoire
ReplyDeletealways good to be challenged.
ReplyDeleteI'd be up for this one I think. I love courgettes, stick it with chocolate...well hello! Great to have vegan/allergy friendly recipes up my sleeve.
ReplyDeleteI recently made a beetroot and chocolate cake, which I think was a little more pudding-y as well as opposed to cake-y.
i love chocolate cup cakes, and this one looks too good...
ReplyDeleteI need to try courgette in cakes - I love carrot cake, but after my brussell sprout need to rebuild my confidence in baking with veg!
ReplyDeleteDid you take the skin off the courgettes? (and if you didn't aren't there big bits of courgette in the cake?). Did you grate them finely?
ReplyDeleteAny chance of a pic of the middles? - I'm a bit fascinated by these and courgette seems such a strange thing to be making cakes with. That, and having loads of them myself.
x
Mmmm I wouldn't even feel guilty about eating these since theres veg in them ;)
ReplyDeleteCelia - made a really good courgette cake a couple of years ago but no chocolate involved. If I can lay my hands on the recipe, might try a chocolate version of that one. Hadn't realised these would be a favourite chicken food - now worried and dare not boast of our great courgette crops for fear of neighbours' chickens devouring the lot.
ReplyDeleteChele - you are the master cupcake baker so more than happy to have you on board.
CGF - always worth having a go with surplus veg - surely, though it wouldn't be good to deprive your chickens completely by the sound of what Celia says.
Jac - I liked them, but I know some prefer their cake to be light and airy - these weren't.
The Intolerant Chef - yes, I'm glad I had to try some vegan baking, it is always useful and I do have friends who prefer not to eat dairy.
Made2Order - True, especially when it's self-imposed.
CityHippy - But did you like your beetroot cake? Mine seemed to be quite popular - I think people like things that are a little unusual.
Sushma - life would not be as interesting without cake.
CC - Courgettes are good as they add moistness but no overpowering flavour.
VBB - no I didn't peel them. I quite liked the green flecks in the cake. Nor did I grate them that finely either. They do pretty much disappear into the cake as it's cooking though so no obvious chunks. No pics I'm afraid, but these were rather dense. I've made a really nice courgette cake without chocolate in the past and need to see if I can find the recipe again, then I'll try a chocolate version of that I think.
Catherine - It's good to know you can get one of your five a day by eating cake!
vegetables in baking can add extra flavour - esp in chocolate baking where they will not overwhelm the flavour - I am sure it helped compensate for the loss of flavour from butter and eggs - I would have loved one of those little pudding cakes
ReplyDeleteHave experimented courgette cake with walnuts have loved it, pudding textures attracts me more with those glossy chocolate oh yum yum!:D
ReplyDeletekeep seeing courgettes in cup cakes... but are they too un traditional for the Aby Village Show? What might the little old dears think?
ReplyDeleteThey look really fab- great idea!
ReplyDeleteanother successful, not to mention tasty, experiment :o)
ReplyDeleteI remember making beetroot and chocolate muffins last year and they worked well using vegetable oil instead of butter.
Johanna - thank you, they tasted good, the butter and eggs thing is mostly in my mind I think.
ReplyDeleteAnanda - courgettes and walnuts sound good.
Dom - go on test their reserve with a some courgette - I'm sure they'll love something a little different really.
Emmalene - thank you
Thank you Nic - not so much using the oil but the lack of eggs that worries me.
Great Blog, I'm glad I found this. Definately worth the read. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteMAKEchocolates
Make Chocolates - Thank you. If only you had an outlet a little nearer I would definitely be attending one of your truffle and tempering sessions.
ReplyDeleteI love the way you play around with recipes, you are very inspiring. These sound very lovely and I hope your vegan friend was pleased with them. I like the chocolate and date syrup topping too.
ReplyDeleteThanks Kath, very nice of you to say so. Luckily, they were much appreciated and I have to say the date and chocolate topping works really well.
ReplyDeleteGreat minds think alike.Check your e mails.I had already sent you a courgette chocolate cake recipe a week ago, before you made these. (I have always said I am a witch).
ReplyDeleteOh Lesley, thank you for the reminder. I did clock your recipe and will be making it soon - our courgettes keep on producing and producing ....
ReplyDeleteHave you seen Great British Bake-In on the iPlayer? It was a bit more emotional than I expected, but some interesting decorating even if the cake seemed secondary to some.
ReplyDeletethese look good, you know I'm sure that zucchini bread is a bit of a N. American thing like carrot cake, it's yummy too
Chocolate date syrup sounds like such a wonderful topping! Happy birthday!
ReplyDeleteOxslip - yes I couldn't resist watching this and it wasn't as bad as I thought it might have been. I certainly wasn't expecting any emotion and would have liked to see everyone's cakes, not just a selected few. And I was rather put out with the judges having a go at that gorgeously pink raspberry cream.
ReplyDeleteThanks Foodycat - I shall be using that one again - very simple but works well - my ganache always seems to split!
My wife is a vegetarian, I am sure I am going to try these courgette cupcakes, sounds to interesting to pass...thanks for sharing looks delish.
ReplyDeleteTried and Tested Recipes