Courgette Cake With Lemon Curd Cream Cheese Icing Recipes

FROSTED COURGETTE & LEMON CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Butter 2 x 20cm sandwich tins and line the bases with baking parchment. Zest 2 lemons, then squeeze their juice into a separate bowl. Put 200g butter, the caster sugar, eggs, courgettes, poppy seeds, vanilla and lemon zest into a mixing bowl. Beat to a creamy batter. Stir in 1 tbsp lemon juice, the flours, baking powder and ¼ tsp salt. Spoon the mix into the tins, then bake for 25 mins or until risen, golden and springy in the middle.
• Make a drizzle by mixing another tbsp lemon juice with 25g icing sugar. Put the remaining icing sugar and butter into a bowl, add the soft cheese, remaining lemon juice (about 2 tbsp) and grate in the final lemon's zest. Beat to make a creamy, smooth frosting.
• When the cakes are ready, cool for 15 mins in their tins, then turn onto a cooling rack. Prick several times with a cocktail stick, spoon over the drizzle and cool completely. Can be frozen at this stage for up to 1 month. Put one cake onto a serving plate and spread with just under half the frosting. Spread over the lemon curd, if using. Top with the second cake, spread the remaining frosting over the top and sprinkle with poppy seeds.

COURGETTE CAKE WITH LEMON CURD & CREAM CHEESE ICING

Steps:

• Preheat then oven to 160°C (fan assisted, 180ºC non fan). Grease and line two 8 inch round cake tins
• Rinse the courgettes and then grate them using a coarse grater
• Put eggs, oil and sugar into a bowl and mix until creamy
• Add the flour, bicarbonate of soda and baking powder. Stir in the grated courgette
• Divide the mixture into the two tins and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden and a cocktail stick comes out clean
• Leave to cool for approx 30 minutes and then remove from the tins and allow to cool completely on a wire rack
• Turn one of the cakes upside down on a plate and spread the lemon curd onto it
• Beat the cream cheese and icing sugar together until completely combined and smooth
• Once combined, add the lime juice. Pour the icing onto the cake and smooth to cover the cake
• Scatter with the chopped pistachios

COURGETTE & ORANGE CAKE WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Steps:

• Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Lightly oil and line a 1kg loaf tin with a strip of baking parchment. Finely grate the courgettes, then squeeze out as much liquid as you can with your hands (too much will make the cake soggy).
• Stir the courgettes with the sugar, sunflower oil, eggs, orange zest, vanilla and sultanas, then fold in the flour and baking powder until they disappear, but don't overmix.
• Scrape the mixture into the tin and bake for 50 mins until a skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Remove from the tin and cool on a wire rack.
• Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese with the icing sugar (don't overbeat as this can make the mixture too soft), then chill. Spread over the cooled cake, scatter with the zest and chill until ready to serve. Will keep for a week in the fridge.

CARROT CAKE WITH LEMON CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.;
• In an electric mixer beat the cream cheese and butter on high until smooth. Then add confectioners' sugar. Continue to beat on high until the lumps have all dissolve. Finally, beat in vanilla extract and lemon juice on low speed until the frosting is completely mixed.;
• In a large mixing bowl combine, sugar, flour, salt, spices, and baking soda. Add oil to the dry ingredients and mix well. Add eggs; beat in one at a time.
• Once the batter is properly mixed, stir in carrots and walnuts. Pour the cake batter into a greased 9 by 13-inch pan and bake at 350 degrees F for 60 to 70 minutes or until golden brown.
• Once cake has cooled, frost and sprinkle chopped walnuts on top as a garnish.

EASY LEMON LAYER CAKE

Steps:

• Heat the oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4 and line the base of two 20cm sandwich tins with baking parchment. Beat the butter and sugar together for 3 mins using an electric whisk until smooth and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl. Fold in the flour and baking powder until well incorporated, then fold in the yogurt, vanilla and lemon zest. Divide between the tins and bake for 30-35 mins until golden and a skewer inserted into the middles comes out clean.
• Meanwhile, make the drizzle. Tip the sugar, lemon juice and 100ml water into a small pan set over a medium heat and stir until dissolved. Add the lemon zest, bring to the boil and simmer for 2-3 mins until the zest has softened and the liquid is syrupy. Remove the zest to a sheet of baking parchment using a slotted spoon, and remove the syrup from the heat.
• Leave the sponges to cool for 10 mins in the tins, then pour over the warm drizzle. Leave to cool completely.
• For the icing, beat the butter and icing sugar together using an electric whisk for 4-5 mins until smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go. Add the vanilla and soft cheese and beat for 4 mins more until thick and creamy. Don't worry if it doesn't look thick at first - it will loosen, then thicken again as you beat it.
• Remove the cooled sponges from the tins. Spoon the icing into a piping bag fitted with a star nozzle. Put one sponge on a cake stand or serving plate, and pipe just under half the icing around the edge using a circular motion for a wavy effect. Pipe a little more icing over the empty middle (this doesn't need to be neat) and smooth with the back of a spoon. Chill for 45 mins-1 hr until set. Top with the second sponge, then pipe eight blobs of icing around the edge at regular intervals, leaving a gap between each. Spoon the candied lemon zest into each gap, then serve.

LEMON CREAM CHEESE FROSTING

Steps:

• Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and curd in large bowl until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and beat until well blended, about 2 minutes.