Courgette, Pistachio & Lime Cake
Some years ago I supplied cakes to a lovely local coffee shop in Marlow. Without doubt this along with my carrot cake were their best sellers. Made with sunflower oil it seems to keep for several days in the fridge without deteriorating, if you can resist! You can also make a dairy free version by switching the cream cheese frosting and using a thick natural coconut yogurt, adding icing sugar to taste along with the zest of a lime.
Courgette, Pistachio and Lime Cake
Servings: 8 people
Equipment
- 20cm deep cake tin
Ingredients
- 170 g Plain flour
- ½ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp Bicarbonate of soda
- A pinch of salt
- 2 eggs medium
- 200 g sunflower oil
- 240 g golden caster sugar
- 60 g unsalted pistachios chopped
- 50 g desiccated coconut
- 140 g courgette grated
- 1 egg white medium
- 2 Limes zest of
- ¼ tsp cloves ground
Cream Cheese Frosting
- 65 g unsalted butter room temperature
- 65 g icing sugar
- 1 lime zest
- 175 g cream cheese full fat
- 1 tsp lime juice
- 20 g unsalted pistachios roughly chopped
- 1 tsp desiccated coconut
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160C fan/Gas 3 Grease a 20cm deep cake tin and line the base with parchment paper.
- Sift the flour with the baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and ground cloves into a bowl, add the salt.
- Coarsely grate the courgette and squeeze out some of the liquid.
- Pour the sunflower oil into a large bowl and add the caster sugar mix lightly with the balloon whisk for a minute or two. Add the two eggs and whisk again for a couple of minutes. Now at the chopped, pistachios, coconut, lime zest and courgette and then add the sifted dry ingredients and fold with a spatula into the wet ingredients, don’t over mix.
- Whisk the egg white with a pinch of salt until stiff peaks form then gently fold into the cake batter again being careful not to over mix.
- Pour the cake batter into the prepared tin and bake for approximately 55 minutes to an hour. Ovens do vary, it may take a little longer in yours but you can insert a cocktail stick into the centre of the cake to check, it should come out dry. Remove the cake from the oven and cool completely in the tin.
- To make the frosting, beat the butter with the icing sugar until really light and fluffy. Add the lime zest, juice and cream cheese. Briefly whisk again until smooth and well combined, don’t over mix.
- Spread the cream cheese frosting on the top of the cake. Finally chop the pistachios and combine with the coconut, sprinkle on the cake and serve.
Notes
*If you are dairy free you can swop out the cream cheese frosting and use a thick natural coconut yogurt, add icing sugar to taste and the zest of a lime.
Courgette, pistachio & lime cake
Made this cake. I am not a master baker, but the cake turned out almost exactly like the picture and tasted gorgeous – not just my own opinion, endorsed by my family! Definitely a keeper
Hello Gordon, thanks for taking the time to comment. I’m so delighted you like my recipe and found it easy to follow.
Hi Louise, the cake looks so delicious. I do not eat eggs, what could I replace with please. Many thanks.
Hi Anju, thank you! So when I can’t use egg in a cake recipe I replace it with baking soda and apple cider vinegar. To 1 egg use 1 tsp b. Soda & 2 tsp vinegar. So in other words double the above for this cake. I haven’t actually tried this method with this particular cake so I cannot tell you how it turns out I’m afraid.
Hi Louise, this recipe is amazing! I’ve made it a few times and it goes down a storm! I need to make it without the pistachios and coconut, how would you compensate? Would you up the Courgette or the flour? Thanks!
No don’t up the flour. Are you allowing for nut allergies?
Thank you so much, glad you like my recipe. You can substitute the pistachios with pumpkin seeds and just omit the coconut all together.