You know what? I’m having an awesome summer. Don’t buy into this ‘but it won’t stop raining‘ chat. All this wet weather is perfect for a bumper crop of courgettes and you simply can’t miss them. It’s like walking onto the set of Day of the Triffids every time we’re in the supermarket. We’re simply swimming in them!
But, if I’m really honest, there are only so many savory things you can do with a courgette before the boredom sets in. This might come as a surprise to some of you, but we very much like a sugary treat. Then again, it’s summer, so we need to look our best right? Luckily, I discovered some amazing recipes at Smitten Kitchen, who helped inspire this treat. So here’s an attempt at taking what’s in abundance, that’s courgettes, and making them into a sweet and healthy(ish) treat.
The great thing about a courgette is that you can treat it a bit like carrots in a carrot cake. It’s makes the cake mixture soft, sweet and allows you to use less sugar. Stick with me here, they may sound odd but they’re flipping amazing. However, as I mentioned earlier we’re sweet food people, so I’ve added chocolate chips. Feel free to add walnuts instead. I won’t judge you for leaning to a healthier approach, in fact I applaud you.
What you’ll need (makes around 6 – 8 muffins)
260g of grated courgette
3 eggs
350g cups of brown granulated sugar
260g plain flour
135g wholemeal flour
150g olive oil
150g plain yoghurt
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
Sprinkle of nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1tsp salt
150g chocolate chips (keep some chips spare for decoration)
Beat the eggs for a couple of minutes by hand before individually adding the oil, yoghurt, sugar and vanilla essence until combined. Then stir in your grated courgette. In a separate bowl, combine all your dry ingredients together and add to your wet mixture. Then combine everything until it’s well mixed. You don’t want to overwork it too much, just enough to get it all combined. Turn your oven up to gas mark 4 or 180°C.
Line a baking tin with muffin cases, or use squares of baking paper like I used here. Add your muffin mixture and finish off with a chocolate button on the top of each one. It will melt into the middle and give you an amazing gooey treat when you bite into it. If you like a crunch to your muffin, then sprinkle a bit of sugar on top. Bake for about 20 – 30 minutes until cooked through. Allow to cool, make a cup of tea and enjoy your healthy(ish) courgette muffins.
