Chocolate Courgette Cake

It's been a while since I've managed to get round to uploading a new recipe but that doesn't mean I haven't been baking, just that I've been eating it before I upload! 

This is a great cake that I adore. My parents' veggie garden produces a glut of courgettes every year and so we have to eat them in all shapes and forms, my favorite is in the form of a cake! Last year I went down the fruity lemon and courgette cake route and this year I've been enjoying chocolate and courgette cake, I hope you do too.

Serves 12

Pre-heat the oven to 180°C

Bake to perfection for 25-30 minutes

You will need the following:

Cake

175g Sunflower Oil 

80g Golden Caster Sugar 

30g Maple Syrup or Honey

2 Eggs 

175g Raw Cocoa or dark chocolate

100g Self Raising Flour

100g Ground Almonds

1tsp Bicarbonate of soda

1tsp Baking Powder

1tsp Ground Cinnamon

225g Finely Grated Courgette

2tbsp Water

Method:

Mix the oil, sugar and syrup together

Add in the eggs and beat well

until the mix turns a pale cream colour

Break up your chocolate into chunks so that when you heat the chocolate cooks at an even pace

put the chocolate in a bowl over a saucepan of boiling water. Stir over a gentle heat

until the chocolate is a smooth sauce

grate the courgette on the fine setting and squeeze out the excess water using your hands

stir in the courgette to the mix

and then add in the melted chocolate

add in the baking powder, bicarb and ground cinnamon

sift in the flour and almonds and gently fold into the mix

stir in the water

 line a square baking tin with a bit of grease-proof paper to make your life easy when lifting out the cake

leave in the oven and check every 5 minutes with a skewer or knife after 20 minutes and when the skewer/ knife comes out clean, the cake is ready

 let cake rest on a cooling rack

There is no need for an icing for this cake as it is so moist

Enjoy with some ice cream or a cup of tea!