Courgette, pistachio and lemon cake
Serves: 12
Prep time: 30 minsTotal time: 
Recipe photograph by Martin Poole
Courgette, pistachio and lemon cake
Grated courgette is the surprise ingredient here, bringing a lovely moistness to the lemony sponge
Serves: 12
Prep time: 30 minsTotal time: 
See more recipes
Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
558Kcal
Fat
22gr
Saturates
10gr
Carbs
78gr
Sugars
56gr
Fibre
2gr
Protein
10gr
Salt
0.8gr
Sarah Akhurst
Our Food Director Sarah is a food obsessive, and spends most of her time scoping out the latest food trends, experimenting in her own kitchen, or making her family wait to eat while she photographs every dinner she makes for the 'gram! A complete Middle Eastern food junkie, she is never far from a good shawarma marinade, a pinch of Aleppo chilli or a sprig of dill
See more of Sarah Akhurst’s recipes
Sarah Akhurst
Our Food Director Sarah is a food obsessive, and spends most of her time scoping out the latest food trends, experimenting in her own kitchen, or making her family wait to eat while she photographs every dinner she makes for the 'gram! A complete Middle Eastern food junkie, she is never far from a good shawarma marinade, a pinch of Aleppo chilli or a sprig of dill
See more of Sarah Akhurst’s recipes
Ingredients
- 300g unsalted butter, softened
- 300g golden caster sugar
- grated zest of 3 lemons and the juice of 1
- 5 medium eggs
- 350g self-raising flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 200g courgettes, coarsely grated
For the pistachio frosting
- 150g pistachio kernels
- 200g butter, softened
- 350g icing sugar, sifted
- juice of 1 lemon
- 2 tbsp lemon curd
Step by step
To store
The cake will keep in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4 and line two deep 18cm diameter cake tins.
- Beat the butter, sugar and lemon zest together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition. Fold through the flour, baking powder and a pinch of salt, and finally add the grated courgette (there’s no need to squeeze out excess liquid) and the lemon juice, folding until fully combined.
- Divide the batter between the two tins and bake for 45-50 minutes, or until golden and risen and a cake skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tins for 15 minutes, then remove and leave to cool completely on a wire rack.
- For the frosting, bring a pan of water to the boil and add the pistachios. Blanch for 2 minutes, then drain and rub dry with kitchen towel. Remove the papery skin and then blitz 100g in a spice grinder or mini food processor to create a smooth paste. Beat the butter and pistachio paste together, then add half the icing sugar. Beat until smooth, then add the rest of the icing sugar with the lemon juice and beat to combine.
- To serve, level the tops of the cake if necessary, and place one cake on a serving plate or cake stand. Spread the top with pistachio frosting and then swirl through the lemon curd. Top with the second cake and then finish with another layer of frosting, spreading some around the sides of the cake too, if you like. Roughly chop the remaining pistachios and scatter around the rim of the cake to serve.
