VARIATION ON A THEME OF CARROT CAKE

'Stina (short for Christina) gave me the recipe for Mairi's birthday cake that I made last week.  Several people have asked for the recipe which is below.

On looking through Nigella Lawson's How to be a Domestic Goddess cookbook I found a very similar recipe:  'Flora's Famous Courgette Cake' (page 18-19).
Stina's recipe is a pleasant variation on carrot cake and just as easy to make.

COURGETTE AND LIME CAKE

135 ml sunflower oil
200 g caster sugar
3 large eggs at room temperature
300g self raising flour 
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp baking powder
335 finely grated courgettes
Grated zest of 2 limes

Line base and sides of 8 inch loose bottom round cake tin.
Beat oil, sugar, eggs for 2-3 minutes til light and fluffy. 
Stir in self-raising flour, baking soda and baking powder.
Then add courgettes and zest of limes.

Bake 40-50 minutes in 160 degree C oven.

Topping:
200 g full fat cream cheese
100 g icing sugar
Zest and juice of 1 lime 

Mix altogether and spread over cake and middle if desired.

Stina's source: Glasgow Herald March 2014 as eaten in the Three Sisters Coffee Shop in Killearn.

THE SAGA OF THE CAKE

I made a test batch first and shared it with some of the neighbours.  

The verdict from my 3 year old neighbour, Ewan, "Don't like the green bits!"

I made 'the real thing' last weekend and put the 2 layers in a poly bag out of harm's way in the garden room adjacent to the kitchen where it is cool.  When I went to retrieve the bag I found a brown paper bag with a selection of Mellis's lovely cheeses had been placed on top ... by Mr Nobody, of course...!

If I ever write a cookery book it is going to be called I Try Not to Weep!  What is it they say?... "Keep Calm and Carry On"!

In the end I did not use the cream cheese filling as above but combined whipped cream and lemon curd and slathered it liberally in the middle to fill the hole and what was left went on the top. (Lime curd was a possibility but I found it too sharp.)

Of course, nobody knows the difference and the cake was fine ... actually it was excellent; I would do the same again!