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This Gluten-Free Courgette Cake Traybake is an easy everyday bake made with gluten-free flours and no xanthan gum. Covered with a dreamy lemon mascarpone icing this cake makes the most of summer’s bounteous courgettes and is perfectly light, moist and incredibly moreish.
If you have a glut of courgettes this season then this Courgette Cake Traybake is a wonderful celebration of this lovely summer vegetable. It boasts a wonderfully light sponge with a tender crumb thanks to the combination of rice and oat flour which not only means this cake is gloriously gluten-free but also lends it a toasted, coming to the end of high summer, campfire in the evenings vibe.
The cake is then topped with a creamy lemon mascarpone icing turning this into a delightful gluten-free courgette and lemon cake. The icing has only a mere whisper of sugar, but plenty of zesty citrus, will be your kind of heaven. Lemon is the perfect compliment to the delicate courgette flavour. A perfect treat for our heady August days when cake might otherwise seem too indulgent.
Table of contents
Why you'll love this cake
- The batter comes together in moments, baking up a dream so it is ready, iced and on your fork before you can change your mind about having an afternoon slice of cake.
- Makes the most of courgette (zucchini) season for all of us veggie lovers.
- Carefully spiced with a touch of cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.
- No xanthan gum.
- Light fluffy texture.
- Light, creamy and zesty mascarpone icing which is the perfect compliment to the soft sponge.
How to prepare the courgettes
The courgettes need to be grated to add to the cake mixture. You can grate the courgette in several ways:
- Julienne peeler. It's time consuming but does create lovely strands of courgette.
- Grating attachment of food processor. This is my favourite method as it's very quick, the size and shape of the courgette is completely uniform so it gives the cake a great texture.
- Hand grater. This is my least preferred method as it is time consuming and you don't get a uniform result. Having said that if it's all you have then it's absolutely a viable method.
After you have grated the courgette you will need to squeeze out the excess moisture as courgettes have a high water content which can interfere with the liquid content of the bake.
To squeeze out the excess moisture then place the grated courgette in a large muslin square or cheesecloth. Then roll it up and wring it out. The water will filter out through the pours in the cloth. The courgette is then ready to be added to the cake mixture.
What gluten-free flours to use
The sponge is so light thanks to the power partnership of rice and oat flour.
Oat flour
This is a lovely soft fluffy flour with a delicious toasty flavour. If you can’t find oat flour then by all means whizz up some oats very finely in your food processor, the results will be the same and oat flour can be quite pricey.
READ MORE >>> Ultimate Guide to Oat Flour
Substitution: You can swap the oat flour for sorghum flour.
Rice flour
This is a very accessible and affordable gluten-free flour which can be found at most supermarkets. You can use either white rice flour or brown rice flour for this recipe.
READ MORE >>> Ultimate Guide to Rice Flour
What ingredients do we need
- Courgettes. Use the freshest vegetable, preferably organice.
- Light muscovado sugar. For flavour, sweetness and structure.
- Olive oil. Use the mild, light, flavourless oil.
- Eggs. Use 4 medium eggs.
- Rice flour. You can use white rice flour or brown rice flour.
- Oat flour. You can use homemade.
- Spices. Cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg are used for a lovely warm flavour.
- Bicarbonate of soda. To help the cake rise.
- Baking powder. Make sure it’s gluten-free. Used to help the cake rise and a tender crumb.
- Salt. This recipe is tested with kosher salt which gives a soft salt flavour.
Recommended equipment
How to make the courgette cake
For full recipe instructions go to the recipe card at the end of this post.
- Grate the courgettes and squeeze out the excess moisture.
- Beat the sugar, olive oil and eggs until smooth and thick.
- Add the rice flour, oat flour, spices, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and salt.
- Finally stir in the grated courgette until evenly dispersed.
- Bake for 40 minutes.
Lemon Mascarpone Icing
The icing feels like a bit of a cheat as it is just so easy and unlike most icings you don’t even need a mixer, just whipping together with a wooden spoon is enough.
Ingredients needed
- Mascarpone.
- Natural yoghurt.
- Icing sugar
- Lemon.
The end result is light, zesty, creamy with a touch of tang and minimal sugar. For this cake the icing is all about the texture and flavour rather than a sickly counterpoint.
How to make the icing
Beat the mascarpone with a little yoghurt, icing sugar and lemon zest until light and smooth.
Make ahead
This Courgette Cake Traybake keeps well, un-iced, for up to 3 days at room temperature. Due to the nature of the mascarpone you should ice just before serving. However, you can keep the cake iced in the fridge for up to 2 days but keep in an airtight container. Bring the cake back to room temperature before serving.
How to freeze
It is best to freeze this gluten-free traybake before you add the icing. Once the cake has been cooled then wrap it whole, uncut, in a double layer of cling film and aluminium foil. The cake will keep well in the freezer for up to 2 months.
To defrost, take out of the freezer and leave at room temperature overnight before unwrapping. You can then add the icing.
How to make dairy-free
The courgette cake itself is dairy-free so you just need to switch out the mascarpone icing for an allergy friendly alternative.
I recommend a simple whipped coconut cream or a cashew cream, still infused with lemon zest.
Other gluten-free courgette recipes you'll love
- Golden Beetroot Carrot Cake
- Courgette Relish
- Jalapeno Honey Courgette Cornbread
- Chocolate Courgette Muffins {gluten-free and vegan}
I urge you to give this Gluten-Free Courgette Cake Traybake a try. If you do then please leave a comment below and give the recipe a rating which helps others find the recipe on Google. If you then go on to use this recipe as a launch pad for your own culinary creation then I’d also love it if you’d share it and tag me on Instagram. It is so lovely for me to see your versions and variations of my recipes.
Gluten-Free Courgette Cake Traybake with Lemon Mascarpone Icing
Ingredients
- 400 g light muscovado sugar
- 300 ml light olive oil - or other flavourless oil
- 4 eggs - medium, about 200g
- 240 g rice flour
- 80 g gluten-free oat flour - or oats finely ground to a powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 340 g grated courgettes - (about 4) squeezed to remove excess moisture
For the Icing
- 500 g mascarpone
- 2 tablespoons natural yoghurt
- 2 tablespoons icing sugar
- 1 lemon - grated zest
Instructions
- Pre-heat the oven to 170°C/ 150°C fan assisted / gas mark 4 and line a grease a 13x9x4 inch baking tin.
- In a large bowl (or stand mixer) beat together the sugar, olive oil and eggs until smooth and thick.
- Add all the other ingredients in, except for the courgette, and beat until everything is fully mixed together.
- Finally stir in the courgette until evenly dispersed and pour into the prepared baking tin.
- Bake for 40 minutes, checking after 20 minutes and covering with foil if the cake seems to be browning too much.
- When ready, leave the cake in the tin for 5 minutes to settle before turning out onto a wire rack and leaving to cool completely before icing.
- To make the icing beat the mascarpone together with the yoghurt, icing sugar and lemon zest until light and smooth and spread onto the top of the cooled courgette cake with a palette knife.
Notes
Flour substitutions
- Oat flour. You can swap for sorghum flour.
- Rice flour. You can use white rice flour or brown rice flour.
I used this recipe for the sponge itself ant it was gorgeous! I had to substitute the oat flour for white teff flour since I can't have oats and I did leave out the spices and added thyme and lemon zest since I was after a different flavour profile but it was perfectly moist. 10/10!!!
Thank you for your feedback - they sound like lovely substitutions!!
Where is your cookery book?
Any publisher should be snapping you up!
Thank you so much! Maybe one day...
Delicious! I've been sharing the recipe with everyone. Very flavoursome and moist cake complemented well by the lemon topping. I had to add 15 minutes to the cooking time but my eggs were quite large.
Thanks for introducing me to oat flour in sponge cakes.
Oat flour was a huge revelation for me too! So happy you enjoy this cake!
This cake is wonderful, light, moist and delicious. I would highly recommend even if you are not gluten free. It was also a huge hit with the children.
Thank you Anne! Gosh, yes I love this cake - such a perfect summer afternoon treat!
This looks delicious and really unusual. Look forward to trying it out!
Thanks Izzy - let me know if you give it a go!