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–+ servings
A golden coloured courgette lemon and poppy seed loaf cake on a rectangular board, with 2 slices cut showing the inside full of courgettes and poppy seeds. Beside the board is some grated courgette and a lemon sliced in half.
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Easy Courgette Lemon and Poppy Seed Loaf Cake

This is what you want from Summertime baking. The perfect combination of moist cake, from the courgette and almond flour, the zing of the lemon, and the crunch of the poppy seeds. All topped with a simple, sweet lemon glaze.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 15 minutes
Course: Cake, Dessert
Cuisine: American, British, European
Keyword: Cake, Courgette, Lemon, Lemon Drizzle, Poppy Seed
Servings: 10
Calories: 328kcal

Equipment

  • 1 x 900g loaf tin or 2 x 500g loaf tins

Ingredients

Cake

  • 350 g courgette coarsely grated
  • 125 ml vegetable oil
  • 2 eggs
  • 100 g caster sugar
  • 1 lemon zested and juiced
  • 200 g plain flour
  • 100 g almond flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp poppy seeds

Glaze

  • 75 g caster sugar
  • 1 lemon zested and juiced
US Customary - Metric

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 180 °C
  • Grease and line your loaf tin(s) with baking paper - either the 900g or 2 of the 500g tins.
  • Grate your courgettes. If they are particularly moist, wrap them in a clean tea towel and squeeze out the excess water. You don't want a heavy, overly soggy, cake.
  • In the bowl of the stand mixer, with the paddle attachment, beat the oil, sugar and eggs until smooth -or you can do this in a large bowl with a wooden spoon.
  • Stir in the zest and juice of 1 lemon to the mixture, along with the grated courgette.
  • Sift the plain flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt, and fold these dry ingredients gently into the batter. Finally, mix in the almond flour and poppy seeds.
  • Pour the batter into your tin(s) and bake for 50min -1hr. The smaller loaves will likely be done in 50 minutes, but test by sticking a skewer into the cake and making sure it comes out clean with no batter attached.
  • When cooked, place the cake/s (still in their tin/s) on a wire rack and pierce all over with a toothpick. Make sure you push down as far as possible so that the glaze can penetrate all the way through.
  • Make the glaze in a bowl by mixing half the zest of the second lemon with all the juice and the caster sugar.
  • Gently spoon the glaze over the cake(s), ensuring it spreads evenly. Allow to cool totally in the tin/s, remove when cool, and sprinkle with the remaining lemon zest. Slice and serve with a dollop of your favourite cream - mine is creme fraiche.

Notes

  • Instead of lemon, you could substitute lime if you prefer. 
  • To make this recipe gluten-free, use GF plain flour and add 1/2 tsp xanthan gum. 

Nutrition

Calories: 328kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 33mg | Sodium: 230mg | Potassium: 160mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 19g | Vitamin A: 123IU | Vitamin C: 18mg | Calcium: 77mg | Iron: 1mg