Spiced Cucumber Cake

If you grow your own cucumbers, there comes a point during the growing season when your plant produces more fruits than you can eat. This is the moment to preserve them for the coming months and there is no better way than turning them into cake, slicing it and freezing it. You can never have too much cake!

Those of you that follow the garden’s process will know by now that the gardeners mate and I make quite a lot of low sugar fruit and vegetable cake that we eat with yogurt for breakfast. Cake made with vegetables, especially with nuts added for protein, make a great and nutritious start to the day.

If you don’t grow your own, then shop bought cucumbers are absolutely fine. Two standard sized fruits is all you need. I grow a couple of mini varieties so I use three of these in the cake.

As with so many recipes, you can add or substitute ingredients depending on what have and what you like. As long as you keep the quantities similar.

You could use courgettes instead of cucumbers. Change the spices or use non. Swap the peanut butter for slightly more honey and crushed nuts of your choice.

I’ve never wanted to go to the shop to buy ingredients for a recipe that I’ll probably never use again, so I’ve always swapped and replaced as I’ve seen fit.

What’s the worst that could happen? Have a go!

Ingredients:

2 Cucumbers – around 600g
320g S.R Flour
1tsp Baking powder
1tsp Cinnamon
1tsp Ground Coriander
1/2 tsp Ginger
50g Demerara Sugar
1tbs Honey
1tbs Crunchy Peanut butter
200ml Rapeseed Oil
3 Eggs
Handful of Sultanas
2tbsp Fruit juice or Spirit

Method:

Put the sultanas into a small pot and add 2tbsp of fruit juice or spirit of your choice.

Leave to steep for a couple of hours or overnight.

Grate the cucumbers and place in a sieve, over a bowl to drain.

Grease and line two rectangular baking tins or moulds.

Measure out all of the dry ingredients and place in a large bowl. Flour, baking powder, sugar and spices.

Add the honey, peanut butter, oil and eggs. Then using an electric mixer, whisk for 1-2 minutes. It will become quite thick. Don’t worry about this as the cucumber will loosen it.

Add the cucumber and whisk until thoughtfully combined, then finally add the sultanas and give a quick whisk.

Divide the mixture equally between the two tins.

Bake in the oven at 160 degrees centigrade for 1hr. Stick a skewer into the middle & if it has residue on put back in for another 5 minutes. Repeat until the skewer is clear.

Cook in a microwave on 50% power for 12 minutes.

If the top of the cake appears uncooked – if you touch it gently and it is wet – cook on full power for 30 seconds. Repeat until it is cooked.