Lemon Zucchini Loaf

A moist lemon sponge speckled with green zucchini and generously drizzled with a tangy, zesty lemon glaze makes for a perfect summer loaf. Sure, it isn’t summer anymore but if you love citrus, this one makes a lovely simple sponge. Let’s get to the strange bit, zucchini in a dessert? The thought of that made me cringe a bit as well a few years ago, but the lovely green speckled sponge was something I couldn’t resist trying out for myself someday. And at the end of it all, even if you despise eating your greens, you can’t really go wrong with a citrus sponge!

PREPARATION TIME: 1 hour 30 minutes

INGREDIENTS

• 1/2 cup of vegetable oil
• 6 tablespoons greek yoghurt
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 whole eggs (preferably, small)
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 1 1/2 cup plain flour
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup grated zucchini (about 1/2 a large green zucchini)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the lemon glaze

• 1 1/2 cup icing sugar
• Juice of 1 lemon

You will also need: A muslin cloth and an 8″X4″ loaf tin

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 180°C. (350°F)

Grease and line an 8″X 4″ loaf tin  with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the greek yoghurt, vegetable oil, lemon juice and caster sugar until well combined.Add in the eggs, one at a time and whisk well after each one.

In another mixing bowl, sift together all the dry ingredients: plain flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Combine the dry ingredients into the batter and gate in the lemon zest.

Using a box grater, finely grate the zucchini. Add in the vanilla extract and the grated zucchini to the batter and fold through.

Note: Squeeze out the water from the zucchini using a muslin cloth, before adding it to the batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf tin and place in the oven for 50- 60 minutes, checking at a 40 minute interval. Once out the oven, place on a wire rack and leave to cool completely.

While the loaf is set aside, move on to make the glaze. To make the lemon glaze, combine the icing sugar and lemon juice and whisk until it turns into a smooth consistency. Generously drizzle over the loaf.

Serve it up with some freshly grated lemon zest!

PRESSURE POINTS

Most recipes skip this step entirely but if you’d rather not have a soggy zucchini loaf, it is absolutely essential to thoroughly drain out all the water from the zucchini.

If you give this recipe a go, I’d love to see how it turned out. Leave a comment below and share your pictures on Instagram using the tag #thecookbooklife!

Happy baking!

Nikita xx

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