A light, delicious and not too sweet courgette cake flavoured with lime and optional rum soaked raisins. Two green-flecked sponges are sandwiched and topped with a lime flavoured mascarpone frosting. It makes a perfect late summer layer cake, ideal for alfresco dining.
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We have a courgette glut. I’m so excited. We haven’t managed to grow any courgettes since we moved. But now we have an allotment and a small veg patch in the garden and the courgettes are doing their thing.
A Courgette Glut
Courgettes (Cucurbita pepo) also known as zucchini, are a variety of summer squash. Once you get the plants established, they’re easy to look after and can produce quite prolifically. We’ve grown many varieties over the years, dark green ones, light green ones, yellow ones, stripy ones, round ones but my favourite are Striato di Napoli.
Striato di Napoli are not only pretty with their alternating light and dark green stripes, but they have a lovely flavour too. They’re quite firm and they stand up to cooking better than some courgette varieties do. By that, I mean they have a good texture when cooked and are less prone to going mushy.
What To Do With A Glut of Courgettes
If you grow your own courgettes, you’re most likely going to end up with a glut at some point. But what a treat. They’re so easy to prepare, they make summer cooking a breeze. I have several recipes which I rotate through the season. They’re all delicious and all quite different from each other. So there’s no danger of us getting bored.
Sadly, I haven’t yet managed to write up the recipes and put them on the blog. I do have a couple though. You’ll find those with a selection of courgette recipes from other bloggers further down the post. And of course, there’s my not to be missed courgette cake flavoured with lime. You’ll find the recipe for that further down the post too.
Soup is always a good standby. It freezes well, so you can cook up large batches of it, put it in portion sized containers and pop them in the freezer. Come the late autumn when the nights get chilly, you’ll have some warming ready meals to remind you of those balmy summer days.
If you’ve really got more courgettes than you can cope with, your friends and neighbours will no doubt be delighted to take some off your hands.
Courgette Cake
This courgette cake is incredibly easy to make. It’s very quick too. This is because there’s no butter involved, so no need to cream butter and sugar together. Instead I use oil, so apart from grating the courgette, the rest pretty much involves mixing everything together.
It’s a fabulous cake for flavour and texture too. I haven’t made it in a long time, so CT was absolutely delighted when I baked one last weekend. It’s one of his favourite cakes.
It’s made with wholemeal spelt flour. Follow the link to find out why this is my flour of choice for cake baking. I haven’t tried it with ordinary wholemeal, but as long as you remember to sieve out the largest pieces of bran, it should still work well and be just as delicious.
I use a microplane* for citrus grating. Since I acquired one, I’ve never looked back. They’re so easy to use and clean and they don’t take up too much room either. It’s just perfect for the job of zesting the lime for both the cake and mascarpone frosting.
When it comes to grating the courgette, I use a box grater*. This is because it doesn’t take very long and there’s less fuss and mess than using a food processor.
I have some oddly sized silicone baking pans* that I use for this recipe, they’re 21 cm in diameter rather than 20 cm. So the cakes are a little flatter than they would be in a 20 cm cake tin and they only took 25 minutes to bake. In the recipe below, I’ve given baking times for 20 cm tins, which are a standard size and a lot easier to get hold of.
Lime Mascarpone Frosting
This mascarpone frosting flavoured with lime is absolutely dreamy. It’s one of those fillings and toppings that you’re hard pressed not to wolf down before ever it hits the cake. Or so I’m told. Unlike buttercream, it’s not overly sweet and the tartness from the lime juice cuts through any sweetness there is, so you end up with a light creamy frosting that’s not at all cloying. As a grand finale, there’s also a little lime zest to lift it and give it a few green flecks to reflect the flecked courgette cake upon which it sits.
Mascarpone cheese is a complete delight in itself, it’s just so rich and creamy. You could use another cream cheese for this recipe, but it won’t be quite as luscious. It’s very high in calories though, so a little goes a long way. You’ll find you only need thin layers to fill and frost the top.
It’s ever so easy to make. All you need to do is stir everything together and it’s good to go almost immediately.
There is one caveat, if you use the lime and mascarpone frosting, the cake won’t last very long. You’ll need to keep it in the fridge or a cool place if you want it to last more than a day.
Edible Flowers
There’s nothing quite like edible flowers to make a cake look pretty. When I can find anything suitable in the garden, I’ll add them. I strew a few anise hyssop flowers over the top of this courgette cake.
But please do be wary with flowers. Not all garden flowers are edible. Indeed some of them are highly toxic. So do ensure your flowers are of the edible variety before you use them.
Other Courgette Recipes You Might Like
- Cheesy carrot & courgette savoury muffins via Jo’s Kitchen Larder
- Chickpea courgette pancakes with mango & cucumber salsa via Tin and Thyme
- Chocolate courgette cake squares via Tin and Thyme
- Chocolate courgette cupcakes (vegan) via Tin and Thyme
- Courgette pasta via Lost in Food
- Courgette pickle via Greedy Gourmet
- Ginger & chilli courgettes via Feast Glorious Feast
- Goat’s cheese, courgette & mint frittata via Kavey Eats
- Italian style zucchini and mushrooms via Christina’s Cucina
- Leek & courgette soup via Fab Food 4 All
- Miso muffins with courgette via Tin and Thyme
- Spiced courgette chutney via Cook Veggielicious
- Spiced courgette fritters via Tin and Thyme
- Summer green soup with parsley & almond pesto via Tin and Thyme
- Sweetcorn courgette fritters with chilli tomato sauce via Tin and Thyme
- Three allium courgette tart via Tin and Thyme
- Zucchini soup with basil via Veggie Desserts
Click on the following link to find all of my courgette recipes.
Keep in Touch
Thanks for visiting Tin and Thyme. If you try this easy courgette cake, I’d love to hear about it in the comments below. Have you any top tips? Do share photos on social media too and use the hashtag #tinandthyme, so I can spot them.
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If you’d like even more cake recipes, follow the link and you’ll find I have quite a lot of them. All delicious, of course.
Choclette x
Courgette Cake. PIN IT.
Courgette Cake – The Recipe
Courgette Cake with Lime and Mascarpone Frosting
Equipment
Ingredients
- 25 g raisins (optional) rum soaked raisins are fabulous
- 250 g courgettes – grated
- 2 large eggs I used turkey eggs because I had them, but duck eggs or large hens eggs are fine
- 125 ml sunflower oil
- 150 g golden caster sugar
- ½ lime – zest and juice
- 225 g wholemeal flour I used wholemeal spelt flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
Mascarpone Frosting
- 250 g mascarpone
- 125 g icing sugar
- ½ lime – zest and juice
Instructions
Courgette Cake
- Soak the raisins in 1 tbsp warm water or rum for an hour, if using.
- Set the oven to 180℃ (350℉, Gas 4) and grease two 20cm (8") round silicon moulds or line two tins with baking paper.
- Coarsely grate the courgette. I use a box grater as it doesn't take very long and there's less fuss and mess than using a food processor.
- In a large bowl, beat the eggs, oil and sugar until creamy. Finely grate in the lime zest. A microplane is fabulous for this. Beat again.
- Seive in the dry ingredients using a wide mesh sieve, but discard any particualy large peices of bran left in the sieve. Stir until just combined.
- Stir in the grated courgette, lime juice and raisins if using.
- Divide the mixture between the tins and level the tops. Bake for 30-35 minutes until the cakes are well risent and the tops are firm to the touch.
- Leave to cool in the tins for fifteen minutes, then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.
Mascarpone Frosting
- Beat the mascarpone in a bowl until smooth. Add the lime zest and sieve in the sugar to avoid any lumps. Beat together with a wooden spoon, then beat in the lime juice.
- Sandwich the cooled cakes together with half of the frosting, then top with the other half.
Notes
Nutrition
Sharing
I’m sharing this recipe for courgette cake with lime and mascarpone frosting with A Strong Coffee for #CookBlogShare.
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They look so pretty! I have never seen a turkey egg – I shall have to ask my free to roam egg supplier if he has any 🙂
I tried them for the first time last year. Much like goose and duck eggs, they’re fabulous for baking.
This courgette cake looks absolutely delicious and so pretty! I’m using lime a lot in recipes and the moment #cookblogshare
Limes are such wonderful zesty fruit. I adore the flavour and use a lot of them in my cooking too.
This looks delicious and the courgette would make it so moist. Thanks for sharing ~cookblogshare
You’re so right Louise, the courgettes gives the cake a particularly good texture.
looks beautiful. love the flavours! rum-soaked raisins? Yay!
Thanks Sherry. Those rum soaked raisins are just fabulous. I have a permanent jar on the go.
I love courgette in cake! And adding lime frosting sounds divine
Lime goes really well with the courgettes and with mascarpone too I’ve found.
Oh the rum soaked raisins put this over the top! What a fab way to use zucchini! Love this, now I just wish I had some growing 🙁
Yes the rum soaked raisins make the cake extra delicious for sure. Do zucchini not grow in California? You might have neighbours that are desperate to pass some on.
Looks so delicious and that frosting sounds heavenly. Thanks for including a link to my chutney recipe.
I am so going to have to try your chutney recipes Mandy. What a lovely way to use courgettes. And yes, that frosting is most delicious.
What a lovely looking cake. The mascarpone icing sounds so indulgent too. I’ve never tried courgette in a cake but feel I really should considering I’m a big fan of courgette in general.
Courgette works really well in cakes. I went through a phase of developing various chocolate courgette cakes, but I’ve managed to whittle those down a bit now!
Love baking with courgettes and this cake sounds amazing especially with rum soaked raisins. Also how pretty the edible flowers look on top! Thank you so much for including my muffins too. 🙂
You’re welcome Jo, you’re muffins sound delicious. The rum soaked raisins are this cake’s pièce de résistance.
This is definitely a WINNER with that lime mascarpone frosting!
It absolutely is Angie. A good excuse to indulge is some delicious frosting.
Oh this looks tasty Choclette! Time I get baking! Thanks for including our courgette pasta! Cheers, Michelle x Thanks for linking up to #CookBlogShare. Michelle
It sounds delicious Michelle and I’m going to have to try it.
Looks delicious Choclette, courgette is the only acceptable veg in a cake in my world so I’m in!
Hahaha, I keep forgetting what fuss pot you are Chloe.
You don’t know the half of it!!!
LOL!
Yours looks like a much lighter cake than the only other courgette cake I tried, and I love the sound of the icing!
Oil cakes are often lighter but it probably depends on the courgettes used as well. I should put in a note about that. Young firm ones are what you want, not old watery ones.
This courgette cake looks so good. But that frosting? Way to take this cake to the next level! Sounds so good.
Every time I make this, I’m so very tempted just to snaffle the frosting and not put it on the cake. I have to give myself a very firm talking to.
Yummy, I’ve never had courgette cake but have heard all about it. Your version looks out of this world good
Aw, thanks Camilla. It’s one I’ve been making for years, but I’ve only just got around to blogging it.
Would this work with Marrows?? I’ve just come back from holiday and and my courgettes are huge!! Now frantically searching for marrow recipes.
It absolutely should as long as the skin isn’t too tough. Just grate the marrow, then stick it in a sieve with a plate over the top to press it down for 20 to 30 minutes to drain off some of the liquid.