Allyson Gofton - Mind you Marrow

When is a courgette a zucchini, when it’s a squash. This vegetable is pretty abundant in gardens all over the country at this time of the year and if you leave it today to pick it tomorrow, often you get a marrow. Whatever your preference, if you’ve a glut of them in your vegetable patch, you need to bake up a Sweet Spiced Zucchini Loaf. This recipe hails from my Country calendar book; it’s moist, tasty and uses loads of the vegetable.

Recipe:
Sweet Spiced Zucchini Loaf
These loaves are moist with a delicious flavour and they freeze well. The sliced loaf is also sensational toasted and buttered, with marmalade!

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 50 minutes
Serves: Makes 2 loaves


Ingredients:
2 cups grated zucchini (well packed)
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
¾ cup milk
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 teaspoons vanilla essence
3 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking soda
1 tablespoon cinnamon
2 teaspoons nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking powder

Topping:
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 tablespoons caster sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon


Method:

1. Place the oven rack just below the centre. Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Grease and line two small (18cm x 8cm) loaf tins.
   
   
2. Into a large bowl put the zucchini, sugar, eggs, milk, butter and vanilla essence and beat with a wooden spoon to mix.
   
   
3. Sift the flour, baking soda, spices and baking powder over the zucchini mixture and stir lightly to mix. Divide evenly between the two loaf tins.
   
   
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 40-50 mintues or until a skewer inserted comes out clean.

Topping:

1. Brush each loaf evenly with the melted butter. Stir the sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle over liberally before serving warm and thickly sliced with lashings of butter. Keep in an airtight container.