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
150ml
vegetable oil, plus extra to grease
200g
caster sugar
75ml
unsweetened milk alternative, we used oat
1tsp.
vanilla extract
1tsp.
white wine vinegar or cider vinegar
350g
courgettes, trimmed and coarsely grated
250g
plain flour
11/2tsp.
baking powder
75g
cocoa powder
3/4tsp.
bicarbonate of soda
125g
vegan ‘milk’ chocolate, roughly chopped, we used NOMO Creamy Choc Block Bar
For the icing
125g
vegan butter alternative, we used Flora, softened
30g
cocoa powder
200g
icing sugar
1tsp.
vanilla extract
2Tbsp.
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.
An experienced and highly skilled team of food writers, stylists and digital content producers, the Good Housekeeping Cookery Team is a close-knit squad of food obsessives. Cookery Editor Emma Franklin is our resident chilli obsessive and barbecue expert, who spends an inordinate amount of time on holidays poking round the local supermarkets seeking out new and exciting foods. Senior Cookery Writer Alice Shields is a former pastry chef and baking fanatic who loves making bread and would have peanut butter with everything if she could. Her favourite carb is pasta, and our vibrant green spaghetti is her weeknight go-to. Lover of all things savoury, Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans can be found eating crispy corn and nocellara olives at every opportunity, and will take the cheeseboard over dessert any time (though she cannot resist a slice of tres leches cake). With a wealth of professional kitchen know-how, culinary training and years of experience between them, they are all dedicated to ensuring every Good Housekeeping recipe is the best it can be, so you can trust they’ll work (and if they don’t – we’ll have the answer for why*) every time (*90% of the time the answer is: “buy an separate oven thermometer”!).
