Sunday 21 March 2010

Vegetables...in Cupcakes?!

Now I'm not going to tell you to calm down it's only a carrot cake, because that's nothing new in the world of veggies in cakes. No, what I put in my cakes this very morn is a vegetable through and through and should by rights have no place in the humble cake! But who says so? What if a vegetable feels they were not, as mother nature dictates, destined for a veggie stew, but felt from an early age that there was something sweet about them, something was calling them to a better, sweeter life...
The vegetable I rescued from a life of stew this week! For there will be more bizarre and brilliant veggie cakes on the horizon, is the Courgette! 'Ew!' 'Why would you do that to a cake?!' I hear you cry! Because I truly feel this is the best way to get your greens in you; everything tastes better when incorporated into cake! And you know that means at some point I will attempt incorporating sausages into a vanilla cake...could be amazing...could also be vomit inducing...shall report back when I have exhausted all other options of cake experimenation.
So! Courgette in cake = no butter in cake! For that is the reason these cakes exist...I recently purchased me a new and wonderful book by Harry Eastwood who is all about the veggies!
Now I wasn't sceptical about the success of this cake, cos i figured it just about sounds crazy enough to work and shock horror, it did! Plus I was intrigued as to what would happen if you chuck out the butter and replace it with a courgette...an obvious substitute.
Here's what happened!
I stripped my courgettes naked first. Yes they were alarmed...the smaller one was a little aroused, but now is not the time or place to go into the ins and outs of vegetable reproduction, there could be children reading...

Grated to a mush!



And then used this crazy 'Rice Flour' stuff which is wheat and gluten free don't you know...






It's the world's most liquidy mixture so drippage did occur. But a small amount of ingredients went a long way which is never a bad thing...plus it tastes so weird at this point you're guaranteed no bowl licking will occur!

Tudaah! Looks like cake..smells like cake...but is in fact full of vegetables! Genius.

Topped with some vanilla meringuey icing


It's not as sweet as your average cake, but i kinda like that...It's definitely a more 'interesting' flavour and it definitely doesn't leave you with that 'I want to eat 10 more now please...don't judge me' feeling that normal buttery cakes do! Advantage or disadvantage I shall leave up to you...
So! Courgettes in cakes? I likey. Next time, parsnips in cakes...A step too far? Stay tuned...

2 comments:

  1. I'm sorry if this disappoints you - but I think of courgette cake as just about as normal as carrot cake! (I maybe didn't have the world's most conventional upbringing... and my mum was fabulous at baking!) I bet it was yummy :D

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  2. Haha really?! Here well at least under my roof it's considered bizarre and abnormal to put vegetables in cakes :p But i loves it! Plus there's the added bonus of the guilt factor being slightly lessened seeing as they're kinder on the waist line than normal cakes so really, you can eat twice as many cupcakes :D which is never a bad thing ;) x

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