Marrow Loaf Cake

This recipe draws inspiration from one of my favourite cakes: courgette cake (or for the Americans out there: zucchini cake). It's very similar to carrot cake, but has a texture similar to that of lemon sponge.

This vegetable originates from north Italy, but our climate here enables us to grow it in Britain. Marrow is a courgette that has been left on the plant to grow a little longer; likewise, if you pick a marrow when small, it's classed as a courgette. An additional benefit of using marrow over courgette is that they can be stored for several weeks after harvest, so you can enjoy this version for longer throughout the year. Yay to sustainability!

I love this recipe because it's so easy to make and requires minimal ingredients! It brings back one of my earliest food memories after settling in the UK, having moved over from Cameroon: eating courgette cake at my primary school bake sale. I remember being intrigued by its texture and the fact that it had a vegetable in it, which got me excited (I have always been a sucker for vegetables). In Cameroon, this is just something we don't do, but why? Because of the lack of equipment and recourses in people's homes. Being a home baker was only for the wealthy. Working-class people will usually buy baked goods from professional bakeries or traders on the market, and you would only get cakes on special occasions like birthdays or weddings. So little me got to eat vegetable cakes every three months in school?! I was buzzing!

Hope you enjoy making this recipe as much as I enjoyed creating it!

Makes one loaf

Vegan | Soy-Free | Nut-free

Bake time: 75 minutes

Ingredients

Stage 1

20g vegetable oil/vegan butter (for greasing your loaf tin)

Stage 2

1 lemon

125ml vegetable oil

80g caster sugar

One flax egg (2 tsp ground flaxseed and 6 tsp water, combined)

Stage 3

350g Marrow

Stage 4

300g plain flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking powder

Prep work need to do beforehand

1. Zest and juice the lemon

2. Weigh out all the ingredients in stage 4 - this will make it easier to sieve

3. Grate the marrow

Equipment needed

1. Loaf tin

2. Mixing bowl

3. Oven

4. Hand whisk/electric whisk

5. Spatula

6. Grater

7.  Greaseproof paper

8. Sieve

9. Tsp and tbsp measurements

10. Scales

Method:

1.       Preheat the oven to 180 degrees/gas mark 4. Grease the loaf tin with vegetable oil or vegan butter and line with greaseproof paper. Set to one side.

2.       In a large bowl add all the ingredients in stage 2 (juice and zest of 1 lemon, 125ml vegetable oil, 1 flax egg and 80g sugar). Whisk together until well combined.

3.       Add the grated marrow and lightly fold (gently mix).

4.       Next sieve all the ingredients from stage 4 into the bowl (1 tsp bicarbonate of soda, 300g plain flour, 1 tsp salt, 1tsp baking powder). Mix until fully combined.

5.       Add the batter to the loaf tin and spread flat.

6.       Bake for 75 minutes or until baked through. To check if fully baked, insert a skewer or butter knife into the centre of the cake - it should come out clean, with no streaks of batter.

This cake can be frozen