You’d never know this cake contains courgettes – they can’t be seen at all when baked, but their presence helps add moisture and binds the cake (in place of egg).
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Yields:
16
Prep Time:
25 mins
Cook Time:
30 mins
Total Time:
55 mins
Cal/Serv:
353
Ingredients
For the cake
150 ml vegetable oil, plus extra to grease
200 g caster sugar
75 ml unsweetened milk alternative, we used oat
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. white wine vinegar or cider vinegar
350 g courgettes, trimmed and coarsely grated
250 g plain flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
75 g cocoa powder
3/4 tsp. bicarbonate of soda
125 g vegan ‘milk’ chocolate, roughly chopped, we used NOMO Creamy Choc Block Bar
For the icing
125 g vegan butter alternative, we used Flora, softened
30 g cocoa powder
200 g icing sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. unsweetened milk alternative, at room temperature, we used oat
Vegan ‘milk’ chocolate, to decorate
Directions
Step 1Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan) mark 4 and grease and line a rough 20 x 30cm roasting tin with baking parchment. For the cake, in a large bowl whisk the oil, sugar, milk alternative, vanilla extract and vinegar until combined. Add the courgettes and whisk again.
Step 2Sift in the flour, baking and cocoa powders, bicarbonate of soda and a pinch of fine salt. Whisk until combined. Add the vegan chocolate chips and whisk in. Scrape into the lined tin and smooth to level.
Step 3Bake for 30min, or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool completely in the tin.
Step 4For the icing, in a large bowl using a handheld electric whisk, beat the butter alternative until light and fluffy. Sift in the cocoa powder and icing sugar and add the vanilla and 2tbsp milk alternative. Beat until pale and fluffy.
Step 5Transfer the cooled cake to a board and spread the icing on top. Decorate with some coarsely grated vegan ‘milk’ chocolate, or shave some over using a y-shaped vegetable peeler. Cut into 16 pieces and serve.
GH TIP You can of course use non-vegan milk, chocolate and butter to make this cake.
The GH Kitchen Team are Good Housekeeping’s resident recipe developers and all-round food obsessives. GH Kitchen Director Sarah Akhurst is our resident hosting pro and loves nothing more than putting on a foodie feast for friends. Our GH Kitchen Manager Linzi Pucino is our very own Italian food expert (originally hailing from the North East of Scotland!) and can be found working her way through midweek recipes that cover all bases, from haggis to ragu! Our Kitchen Editor Nadine Brown loves digging into the stories behind her favourite foods and enjoys applying her eclectic tastes to more modern, flavour-forward recipes - just don't give her too much chilli! Our Junior Food Content Produce Frankie Prichard combines a love of beautiful presentation and flavour-led, seasonal cooking in her recipe development, along with a passion for bringing people together through food. With a wealth of professional kitchen experience between them, they’re dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work every single time
