A deliciously moist loaf cake which uses the healthiest ingredients possible without compromising on taste.
Courgette, wholemeal spelt flour, ground almonds, coconut oil and dark muscovado sugar are the main ingredients which all come together to create a dense loaf cake which is perfect for keeping in the cake tin for when you finally sit down to enjoy that cup of tea 😉
The loaf cake tastes really lovely just as it is, but if you would like to make it a little more special for an occasion or guests visiting, you can add the blueberry cream and lavender topping for a more decadent twist. Simply mix any thick yoghurt (coconut yoghurt works particularly well here) with a handful of fresh or frozen blueberries and blend until smooth and creamy. Top with fresh lavender flowers, or any you have in your garden that are in season when you make the cake.
I have replaced the eggs with gram flour for this recipe. Gram flour is made from chickpeas and when it is mixed with water and baked, it creates a solid, gell like consistency which works really well as a binder for cakes. It has a naturally nutty flavour so combines beautifully with the almonds too.
Vegan Courgette Loaf Cake with Blueberry Cream & Lavender Topping
Ingredients
Cake
- 100 g coconut oil
- 150 g dark muscovado sugar
- 3 TBSP gram flour
- 3 TBSP water
- 2 drops vanilla bean extract
- 1/2 lemon juice only
- 100 g ground almonds
- 250 g wholemeal spelt flour
- 1 TBSP baking powder
- 300 g courgette washed, grated
- 1/2 tsp salt
Topping- optional
- 150 g thick yoghurt - coconut yoghurt works really well in this recipe
- 1/2 cup blueberries fresh or frozen
- 5 lavender flower heads optional
Instructions
- Line a 2lb (roughly 25cm long 12cm wide) loaf tin with baking paper and pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees C.
- Place the coconut oil and muscovado sugar into a large bowl and cream together using a fork.
- Next, add the gram flour with the water and mix with the sugar and oil.
- Add the vanilla and lemon juice to the same bowl.
- Now add the grated courgette to the bowl and mix the ingredients together well.
- Add the ground almonds to the bowl, stir, then gradually sift in the flour, baking powder and salt. Continue to combine all of the ingredients until everything is incorporated.
- Pour the mixture into the lined loaf tin and place it in the centre of the oven to bake for 40 minutes.
- After 40 minutes, check if the cake is cooked through by inserting a skewer into the centre of the cake and checking it comes out clean. If not, return the cake the oven and continue baking for another 5 minutes or until it is cooked through.
- If the cake is browning too quickly on top, cover the loaf tin with a piece of foil, this will help it to stop browning further.
- Once the cake is cooked, remove it form the oven and leave to cool in the tin for about 10 minutes before removing it from the tin and leaving to cool for another 20 minutes on a cooling wrack. Slice into 10 equal pieces for serving or store in a lidded, airtight container for up to 3 days.
Topping
- OPTIONAL - if you wold like to top the loaf cake with the topping, simply blend the yoghurt with the blueberries and spoon the mixture in top of the cake just before serving. You can add a sprinkling of fresh lavender flowers or any that are in season, or leave without.
- If you have topped the cake with the yoghurt topping, please store any un-eaten cake in the fridge for up to 2 days.
