Vegetables in baking

Vegetables are undergoing a bit of a fashion revival at the moment I feel, teaching 5 year olds I was amazed when we did our topic on healthy eating and they came up with a whole multitude of veg that they enjoy. Exposure to more unusual veg through farmers markets and organic box schemes like Riverford and Abel and Cole have helped this somewhat. Even my personal food hero Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is championing the eating of more vegetables in our meals. 

In fact watching River Cottage Veg Everyday has got me to thinking about how I can use more veg in my baking. I tend to bake only sweet things so it is really is an area of alchemy ripe to explore. 

I'm tempted to try this recipe avocado chocolate tart, it seems really easy and looks delicious. I can totally see how avocado would make a smooth and creamy chocolate ganache. No cooking involved either and no dairy or gluten too! Apart from the walnuts in the base it's quite a good dish for intolerances. I may suggest making it instead of the chocolate truffle torte I usually make at Christmas.

I have a feeling my upcoming allotment will feature heavily in an increase of eating vegetables in my diet after xmas. I can feel a second blog coming on too perhaps...

Recipe

Courgette cake

recipe from hummingbird bakery cake days

This couldn't be simpler, in fact there's not even any butter in it so there's no fussy creaming to do. 

In the bowl of an electric mixer, with the paddle attachment (or in a bowl with an electric hand whisk)  mix together 3 large eggs, 300ml of sunflower oil, 1/2 tsp of vanilla essence and 300g of soft brown sugar. Beat until well combined. In another bowl, sift together 300g of plain (allpurpose) flour, 1tsp bicarb, 1tsp baking powder, 2tsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground ginger, 1/2 tsp of ground nutmeg. Add this to the oil and egg mix slowly and in two batches. Then when it's all mixed in, add 300g of courgettes peeld and grated and 100g walnuts chopped. 

Divide the mix evenly between three 7inch sandwich tins that have been lined with baking parchment. Bake in an oven at 180C for 30 -35 minutes or until the cakes have slightly come away from the sides of the tin and when you touch it lightly it springs back. 

Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tines slightly (this makes the cakes easier to remove) then cool completely on a wire wrack.

Assemble your cake using a good cream cheese frosting, putting a couple of table spoons between each layer 

Then frost the sides and the top, smoothing out with a palette knife. 

A dusting of cinnamon at the end is optional, as was the purple edible glitter that my flatmate added afterwards. This was for a birthday cake for my flatmate's mum and it went down a real treat, considering that the idea wasn't one that was intially taken wholeheartedly. 

I do recommend you try it out!

What vegetables have you used in sweet baking and how did you use them?

That's all from me for today, a shorter post I know but next time will be more xmas baking!