Zucchini cake

Move over carrot, zucchini is the new baking star! - by Karen Martini

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Ingredients

Cooking oil spray, to grease

Plain flour, to dust, plus extra 2 cups

2 cups grated zucchini

1 cup extra virgin olive oil

3 free-range eggs

2 cups light brown sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp ground ginger

2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

½ tsp salt

½ tsp baking powder

150g walnuts, toasted, roughly chopped, plus extra 50g

500g cream cheese, at room temperature

4 Tbsp icing sugar, sifted, plus extra to dust

Zest and juice of ½ lemon

Method

Preheat oven to 150 degrees C fan-forced (170 degrees conventional). Grease a 21cm round bundt tin with cooking oil spray, and dust evenly with flour. Put zucchini in a strainer and set aside for 15 minutes to drain liquid. After 15 minutes, gently squeeze out a little more liquid. After 15 minutes, gently squeeze out a little more liquid.
Put oil and eggs in a stand mixer and beat until combined, then add sugar and vanilla and beat until creamy. Sift extra flour, spices, bicarb, salt, and baking powder together, then fold gently into egg mixture. Fold in zucchini and walnuts until well combined.
Pour into prepared tin and bake for 55-60 minutes. Meanwhile, put cream cheese in a medium bowl and beat with a whisk. Add icing sugar, zest and juice and whisk until smooth.
Turn out cake. Cool completely on a wire rack. Top with cream cheese icing, scatter over extra walnuts and dust with icing sugar. Serve.

Step 4

Marina Oliphant

Karen Martini

Melbourne chef, restaurateur and food writer Karen Martini has been cooking professionally for more than 20 years. A passionate ambassador for Ovarian Cancer Research, Karen aims to build the awareness of the silent killer that is often misdiagnosed.