Don’t be perturbed by the savoury ingredient in these cakes, because it is truly magical: the courgettes release all of their water, leaving a very moist, spongy cupcake. I recommend baking them in heavily buttered muffin tins or silicone moulds; baker Julia Aden recently recommended putting a round piece of greaseproof paper in the base of each mould to help remove small cakes, and it works a treat.
Mini courgette and olive oil cakes with lime frosting
Prep 15 min
Cook 30 min
Make 12
Butter, for greasing
200g golden caster sugar
175g plain flour
15g baking powder
A pinch of salt
Zest of 1 lemon
3 eggs, beaten
110ml olive oil
300g courgettes, coarsely grated
For the lime cream cheese frosting
160g cream cheese
80g icing sugar
Zest and juice of 1 lime, plus extra zest to garnish
Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4 and liberally grease a 12-hole muffin tin with butter.
Mix all the dry ingredients in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients, apart from the courgettes. Add the wet mix to the dry, stir to combine, then fold the grated courgettes through the batter.
Pour the mix into the muffin tray, and bake for 25-30 minutes, until golden and cooked through. Leave to cool, then carefully remove the cakes from the tin.
To make the icing, beat all the ingredients in a medium bowl until combined, then pipe or spoon on top of each cake. Garnish with extra lime zest, then serve.
