Chocolate & Courgette Layer Cake with Chocolate Ganache & Toasted Macadamia Nuts
Its slightly browny, sightly caky but 100% indulgent!
(Go to the end of the post to watch a how to video)
Courgettes everywhere at the moment, and so many in the couple of raised beds I have in the garden, that they’re growing out of control, into giant monsters.
So, another recipe to use them up!
This is a dense fudgy cake, so go to another recipe of your looking for a light and airy cake.
But, if you like intense, chocolatey and full of yumm, this is where you should be.
The cake itself is moist because of the courgettes, rich and indulgent because of the cocoa, and as if that’s not enough, the delectable smooth dark chocolate ganache certainly tips it over the edge.
Just for a little bit of texture, the toasted macadamia nuts placed over the top not only add a bit of crunch but also have a lovely mouth feel.
Macadamia nuts have a texture like no other nut!
A mix between the crunch of a hazelnut and the smooth bite of a brazil nut.
A slight creamy texture too!
If you can’t get your hands in macadamia nuts, hazelnuts are a lovely substitute, but the same rules apply when toasting them in a dry frying pan.
They can go from ‘doing really nicely’ to ‘oh my god, they’re burnt and I don’t have any more” so keep one eye on them if you’re doing other things.
Go on, give it a go and enjoy your sweet life!
Cut yourself a slice of decadence
What You Need
Cake
400g Courgette – Grated – See Tip Box
350g Plain Flour
300g Golden Castor Sugar
150ml Vegetable Oil
130ml Semi Skimmed Milk – See Tip Box
75g Cocoa Powder
3 Large Eggs
2 Tsp Baking Powder
1 Tsp Vanilla Extract
Grate the courgette, and if too much moisture, let it drain for 30 minutes
Decoration
500g Dark Chocolate – Chopped into small pieces
250 ml Double Cream
100g Macadamia Nuts – See Tip Box
Folding in the grated courgette into the batter
How It’s Done
Heat Oven to 180c
Place the chopped chocolate into a bowl
Place the double cream into a small saucepan and heat up until just before boiling
Once heated, pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate and let it sit for 2 minutes to start to melt the chocolate
Stir the chocolate cream mixture until it becomes thick and shiny
Set aside to cool and becomes spreadable
Place the Macadamia nuts into a dry frying pan and over a medium heat, let them heat up, shaking occasionally until they have a little colour – See Tip Box
Once coloured, remove from the hot pan and set aside to cool
Prepare two 8” shallow cake tins by covering the inside with margarine or butter, dusting with flour and cutting out circles to fit in to the bottom of the tins.
Add the eggs, oil, vanilla and milk to a bowl and whisk on medium speed for 5 minutes
Add the sugar and whisk again for another 5 minutes
Place the flour, cocoa and baking powder into a sieve and sieve the dry ingredients into the wet mixture
Use a metal spoon to fold in the dry ingredients.
Add the grated courgette and fold it into the cake batter
Divide the batter between the two prepared tins
Put the tins into the hot oven and bake for approx. 35-40 minutes until a knife comes out clean – See Tip Box
Remove from the oven and leave to coo in the tin for 10 minutes before taking the cakes out of the tin and leaving to cool completely on a cooling rack.
Once the cakes are cold, place one of the cakes onto a serving plate and put some of the ganache onto the cake and use a pallet knife to make smooth
Place the second cake on top of the first
Pour lots of the ganache on top of the stacked cake and gently push it over the edge of the cake
Use a pallet knife to level the top of the ganache and scrape it all around the outside of the cake until its even on the top and sides.
Arrange the toasted macadamia nuts on the top of the cakes
Extravagant dark chocolate ganache
Tip Box
Courgette – If you’re using very large overgrown courgettes, remove the seeds first and if there’s too much liquid once it has been grated, let it sit in a colander for 30 minutes to get rid of some of the water.
Milk – I had semi skimmed milk, however, in the past, I’ve used goats milk and soya too.
Nuts – Don’t take your eyes off the nuts, they can go from nothing to burnt really quickly
Baking – 1) Each oven is different so adjust baking time accordingly.
2) The cakes are ready to come out of the oven when a small sharp knife inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Macadamia Nuts – Hazelnuts can be used to replace the macadamia nuts.
Decorate with toasted macadamia nuts
For a brownie like Chocolate and Courgette layer cake with dark chocolate ganache with toasted macadamia nuts, try this recipe. Is super easy .
