E L L E Y WE S T B ROOK COURGET TE, LEMON AND THYME CAKE
Elley Westbrook has been cooking on Aga Cookers for as long as she can remember. In relaxed and informal demonstrations she offers practical advice, hints and tips on all aspects of living with and cooking on AGA cookers.
Elley is the demonstrator for Westbrook Cookers and frequently demonstrates in customers’ own homes to give one to one tuition or small group demonstrations.
To arrange a demonstration call 01544 350382 or email Elley on
elleymariewestbrook@yahoo.co.uk
June is the start of the courgette season but did you know it can be used in sweet dishes as well as savoury? If you’ve ever grown your own, you will know that fairly quickly you will have a glut of them and the harvesting season runs right up until October, so the more recipes to make use of this delicious vegetable the better.
The addition of thyme and lemon to this cake recipe brings a real flavour of the Med too for a wonderful summery offering. Delicious.
INGREDIENTS FOR THE CAKE 300g butter, softened
300g golden caster sugar Zest of 2 unwaxed lemons 5 large free range eggs 350g self-raising flour 2 tsp baking powder 3 large courgettes (500g) coarsely grated 2 tbsp chopped thyme leaves
FOR THE ICING 200g mascarpone 200g salted butter, softened Zest of 2 unwaxed lemons and a squeeze of juice 900g icing sugar, sifted
METHOD
Measure out both lots of butter and place in separate bowls at the back of the Aga to soften - If not using an Aga then preheat your oven to 180C/gas 4.
Lightly grease a 24cm round springform cake tin. NB if you have 2 of these tins you can bake the sponges separately but reduce the cooking time and check with
a skewer in the usual way.
Put the cake ingredients (minus the courgette) into a large bowl and beat together until perfectly combined and creamy in appearance… a stand mixer is perfect for this.
Fold in the courgette and pour into the cake tin. Lightly smooth over the top. Place the grid shelf on the floor of the baking oven and the tin atop that.
This is a long bake for a sponge cake at 1 hour 10 mins (in my Aga…you will need to keep an eye on your cake and adjust according to the foibles of your Aga) if the top is browning too quickly then slide in your cold plain shelf after 20 mins on the 2nd set of runners.
2 oven Agas: place the grid shelf on the floor of the roasting oven and your deepest roasting tin on top of it. Place your cake tin in the roasting tin and the cold plain shelf on the second set of runners. This will need changing over after 25 minutes will another cold plain shelf or a baking tray whilst the original one cools down.
(NB it is a really good idea to have 2 plain shelves regardless of how many ovens you have! Also the deepest Aga roasting tin…as these fit onto the runners and negate the need for the grid shelf.)
When the cake is cooked through remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 20mins. Skewer the top in several places and mix some caster sugar with the juice of one lemon and pour over the sponge… much as you would for a lemon drizzle cake.
Remove the cake from the tin and place on a cooling rack to finish cooling completely.
Make up the icing: whisk all the ingredients together until smooth and fluffy. Once the cake is cooled carefully cut in half to create two sponges (like a Victoria sponge).
Using some of the icing sandwich back together and then using a palette knife carefully apply the rest of the icing over your cake and chill for 20 minutes before serving.
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WINING & DINING RECIPE S TO TRY AT HOME
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