What I love most about these cakes are the summery flavours and textures. The sponge is light as a feather with subtle flavours and the icing is soft and delicately fragranced. Finished with a pretty shimmer and a fresh rose petal on top, they’re lovely to look at and even lovelier to eat. Perfect for a summer afternoon tea.
The combination of apple and courgette gives these mini loaves a light, clean taste which is perfect as it is, however you could add some sultanas for another layer of texture and flavour. It’s important to weigh out the apple and courgette – if there’s more in the mixture than there should be it becomes too wet and the cakes collapse the moment they come out of the oven. Draining off any juice after grating keeps any excess moisture out. I tend not to pile the icing on too high because if there’s too much the sweetness and the elderflower can overpower the lightness of the sponge. With the right balance they’re an absolute joy to eat. A good quality, mellow loose-leaf white tea beautifully complements these cakes, served in a vintage fine china cup of course 🙂
Ingredients
Makes 12 mini loaves
Mini loaves:
1 small apple (approx. 150g before peeling etc) coarsely grated
1 small courgette (approx. 150g) coarsely grated
2 large eggs
150g caster sugar
100 ml sunflower oil
175g plain flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
pinch of salt
1 tsp vanilla essence
Icing:
100g unsalted butter at room temperature
200g icing sugar, sieved
1 tbsp milk
1 tsp natural elderflower essence (or a little more or less to taste)
For decoration:
Edible glitter (glacier white or equivalent iridescent white)
White rose petals
Pre-heat oven to 160c
- Sieve flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a bowl and put to the side
- Whisk eggs in a large bowl until fluffy
- Add sugar in four parts, whisking well between additions. Whisk until thick and pale
- With the whisk on medium, slowly add the oil to the egg mixture in a steady stream. Whisk until well combined, adding the vanilla after the oil
- Add the flour mix into the egg mixture and whisk until just combined
- Gently fold in the grated courgette and apple and fold until combined
- Divide the mixture into a 12 x mini loaf tin and bake for 25 – 30 min until cakes are golden and spring back to the touch. Leave to cool slightly then turn each mini loaf out of the tin and cool on a wire rack
- To make the icing, cream the butter and icing sugar together until it passes the breadcrumb stage and starts to come together. Add the milk a little at a time – it may not need the full tbsp. Add the elderflower essence and continue to whisk on high until light and fluffy
- Once cakes are cool, pipe the buttercream on top in whatever style you prefer. Sprinkle a little edible glitter over the icing and top each one with a rose petal
©Catherine Lawson and It’s all about the cake 2015
It's all about the cake 