Boiled and baked cake with pineapple and zucchini!

The zucchini plants are producing lots of wonderful golden vegetables! But what to do with the excess? We've gorged on zucchini fritters, zucchini salads, stir fried zucchini and zucchini slice.

I like carrot cake, and have enjoyed cakes with beetroot as a colourful addition, so why not zucchini?

I love fruit cake and wondered if I could find a recipe for a boiled and baked pineapple and zucchini cake. The internet is a wonderful thing and lo and behold I almost found what I was looking for ;-) By combining a number of recipes, I baked these delicious cakes. More than enough to share!

Ingredients:

• 1 x 450g tin crushed pineapple with juice. (Pineapple pieces work, but aren't as delicate.)
• 250g butter
• 500g mixed fruit (including raisins, sultanas, dates, apricots, cherries, cranberries etc)
• 2 cups sugar (I've used white, brown and palm, they all work, but give a slightly different flavour)
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
• 1 tsp nutmeg
• 2 tsp vanilla essence
• a slosh of brandy, rum, blackberry nip or similar
• 1 heaped tablespoon marmalade

Method: 
Put all of the above in a saucepan - bring to the boil then allow to cool.

Now stir in: 
2 teaspoons bicarb soda. (It'll foam and froth in an entertaining way.)

Next add:

• 3 lightly beaten eggs, if they're really small, use 4
• 1 cup grated zucchini

Combine:

• 2 cups plain white flour
• 1 cup wholemeal flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• pinch salt

If you're feeling decadent, you can chop up some chocolate and add it too!

Add the dry ingredients to the wet. Stir till mixed.

Cook the large cake about 1 - 1 1/4 hours at 160C until a skewer comes out clean. The small ones only took 30 mins. I turned them after 20 mins and moved the front one to the back as my oven doesn't heat evenly.