Reduced sugar Lemon & Courgette Loaf - perfect with a cup of tea

If you are anything like me and enjoy a good ramble through recipe websites and magazines, you can't help but have noticed the trend towards including vegetables in sweet cakes and loaves.  I think it has largely come over from the States, but I also can't help thinking that perhaps this is what used to go on during the war when sugar was rationed and cake ingredients were at a premium.

Anyway, this was my first go with including courgette - and it's very good!  With the lemon in there too, you don't notice the courgette flavour but it has a distinct effect upon the texture of the cake/loaf.  (I can't help but call it a cake, because it looks so much like one and tastes so much like one!  However, the original recipe touts it as an American breakfast bread.  Well, considering cornbread, I suppose it fits!).  This is a very robust cake in that the texture of the cake crumb is almost bouncy.  Not rubbery, it just has a degree of resistance to the tooth, without being dry or crumbly.  I like it a lot.

My lovely Facebook friend Ann recommended the loaf to me - for which thank you very much, Ann!  The original recipe came from the Lemon Tree Dwelling blog (see here) - where, incidentally, it is referred to as a "bread".

Now, along with trying to reduce our consumption of carbohydrates (Conscience : "Oh yes? Why are you making cake then, Jenny, eh?", me : "Shut up and get back in your bed!"), we have also been trying to reduce our consumption of processed sugar.  That's a real tricky one where sweet baking is concerned.  I won't entertain the use of lots of the sweeteners that are out there today - and particularly not anything with aspartame or acesulfame in it. However, we have found that Truvia (a stevia based sweetener) is acceptable.

Hence, you will find that the ingredients include a quantity of Truvia along with a much reduced quantity of caster sugar.  The original quantity of sugar is 0.75 of a cup, so if you want to make a full sugar version - there you go.  :)  That may also help you in calculating how much of another sweetener of your choice, you are likely to need.

Oh and yes, because this is an American recipe (originally), the ingredients are in cups. All I can suggest is that if you haven't already, you get yourself a set of cup measures.  SO much easier than trying to convert from cups to grams!

One other thing - the original recipe says to use vegetable oil.  Because I'm me and butter tastes SO much nicer, I just melted the right amount of butter in the microwave and used that instead.  ~proud face~  What?  It was low calorie enough, alright?

Right then, excuses over, I thoroughly recommend you give this recipe a try.  Make sure to have it baked and iced before cup of tea time in the afternoon, right?  You'll be glad you did.

REDUCED SUGAR LEMON & COURGETTE LOAF   (makes around 12 slices)

Ingredients :

One and a half cups of plain flour
A half tsp bicarbonate of soda
A quarter tsp baking powder
A quarter tsp salt
A third cup of Truvia

A quarter cup of caster sugar
1 cup of finely grated, unpeeled courgette
A quarter cup of melted butter
1 egg
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp finely grated lemon zest

For the drizzle icing :

Half a cup of icing sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest

Method :

Prepare a 1lb loaf tin by either greasing and lining with baking parchment, or by use of a ready made loaf tin liner.  Pre-heat your oven to 180degC/350degF/Gas 4.

In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, and salt.  Stir them together thoroughly and set aside.

In a separate, large, mixing bowl combine the Truvia, sugar, grated courgette, melted butter, egg, lemon juice, and lemon zest. Stir to combine.

Add the contents of the dry ingredients bowl to the courgette mixture and stir just until combined.  You may need to add a wee drop of warm water, if the mix appears too stiff.

Spoon the mixture into your prepared loaf tin and level the surface.

Bake for 50-55 minutes or until golden brown and a skewer comes out clean.

Cool in the pan on a wire rack for a few minutes, then remove the loaf from the pan and cool completely.

Once cool, combine the ingredients for the icing and drizzle over the loaf.  Allow a little time for the drizzle to dry - while you're making a cup of tea is about perfect.

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