A health food. Obviously.
Courgettes are still plentiful this month, and if they keep turning up in your garden or veg box, these mini loaves are a delicious way to use them up. Soft, moist and gently spiced, finished with a sticky honey-lime syrup and topped with pretty courgette chips, they look great and taste even better!
What’s more, you can kid yourself that these aren’t cakes, they’re a health food. After all, they’re packed with grated courgette and apple, chopped nuts and wholewheat flour. And yes, there’s added sweetness, but the sugar is brown (healthy & wholesome, right?) and the honey does actually have some known health benefits, so dig in!
Why this recipe works
Courgette in cake works for the same reason carrot does. It’s mostly water, so it keeps the crumb soft and moist without tasting remotely of vegetables. The grated apple adds sweetness and even more moisture, and using oil instead of butter keeps the loaves tender for days. Not that they’ll hang about that long.
The topping is the real showstopper. Thin courgette slices are simmered in honey, then baked low and slow until they turn into crisp, glossy chips. The leftover honey becomes the lime syrup, so nothing goes to waste.
I baked these in mini loaf tins which I lined with parchment paper, but they would work just as well baked in round muffin tins lined with muffin cases – the cooking time might be a little shorter, but not by much. You could also play around with the ingredients – replace the pistachios with different nuts, maybe use a carrot in place of the courgette, and try different spices – mixed spice or cardamom would be nice.
You can download the recipe here or watch my reel on Instagram. If you make these, I’d love to see them. Tag me on Instagram at @forkful.food
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Ruth x
Recipe adapted from Eat Well Live Well.