Food Friday: Spiced courgette, carrot, date, apple and brandy cake

Available for over a year

Spiced courgette, carrot, date, apple and brandy cake: (makes 2 x 2lb loaf tins) This is perfect for using up a glut of apples, courgettes and carrots from your veg plot. It’s also a brilliant way of getting kids to eat more veg, just swap the brandy for the juice of one whole orange instead. This recipe makes 2 cakes as one is never enough and your friends will love to receive one, perhaps in exchange for some of their home grown veggies even :) 150g dates, stones removed and roughly chopped 50ml brandy (or juice of 1 orange) 1 large courgette (250g) grated (leave skin on) 1 large carrot (200g) peeled and grated 1 large apple, grated (leave skin on) zest of 1 orange 4 eggs 250ml corn oil (or veg or sunflower), plus extra for greasing 200g soft light brown sugar 2 caps vanilla extract 400g wholemeal self raising flour 100g walnuts, roughly chopped 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg 1 small pinch ground cloves 4 tablespoons Demerara sugar 1: Soak the dates in the brandy for a few hours or preferably overnight. 2: Heat the oven to 200C and line and grease 2 x 2lb metal loaf tins. 3: Combine the grated courgette, carrot, apple and orange zest in a bowl. 4: Beat together the eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla until pale and fluffy, stir in the dates, brandy and grated fruit and veg. 5: Sift together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, add the walnuts then stir the dry mixture into the wet mixture making sure that the flour is thoroughly combined. 6: Divide the mixture between your loaf tins and top with the Demerara sugar. Put in the oven and immediately reduce the heat down to 175C, bake for between 50-60mins, the cakes are ready when a skewer is removed from the centre of the cakes clean.