Winner! The VegBox Recipes Courgette Cake "Grown in Britain" Prize Draw

Thanks to all the wonderful folks that submitted their recipes for the "Grown in Britain" Prize Draw.

The recipe lucky enough to be pulled from the bag was submitted by Sebastien Durieu from Glasgow, who says:

"I am trying to eat seasonal food because is fresher and so tends to be tastier and more nutritious.

It is also important to support my local economy and reduce the energy needed to transport the food.

I feel I am making an effort to reconnect with nature's cycles and the passing of time.

I have now started growing my own selection of seasonal vegetables on my patio at home."

Well we like the passion, we love the recipe and we really hope the book is a valuable addition to Sebastien's collection.

If you weren't lucky this time round, don't despair, you can still buy a discounted (20% off) copy of this book at www.dk.com. Simply enter the code VIPbonus at the checkout to receive your 20% discount. Offer ends 31st December 2009, while stocks last.

Sebastien Durieu's Courgette Cake

Ingredients:

1 carrot
1 courgette
3 eggs, separated
115g soft light brown sugar
30ml ground almonds
Finely grated rind of 1 orange
150g self raising wholemeal flour
5ml ground cinnamon
5ml icing sugar, for dusting
Fondant carrots and courgettes, to decorate

For the topping:

175g low-fat soft cheese
5ml clear honey

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

Line an 18cm/7in square tin with non stick baking paper.

Coarsely grate the carrot and courgette.

Put the egg yolks, sugar, ground almonds and orange rind into a bowl and whisk until very thick and light.

Sift together the flour and cinnamon and fold into the mixture together with the grated vegetables. Add any bran left in the sieve.

Whisk the egg whites until stiff and carefully fold them in, a half at a time.

Spoon into the tin.

Bake in the oven for 1 hour, covering the top with foil after 40 minutes.

Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes, then turn out on to a wire rack and remove the lining paper.

For the topping, beat together the cheese and honey and spread over the cake. Dust with icing sugar and decorate with fondant carrots and courgettes.

Variations taken from the other entries:

1. Try using nutmeg or ginger or mixed spice as well as / instead of cinnamon.
2. Experiment with adding walnuts, Brazil nuts, raisins and / or sultanas.
3. How about using some vanilla? Or some desiccated coconut?
4. Maybe try replacing a little bit of the flour with oats?
5. Perhaps use some lime-zest or orange-zest in the topping mix.
6. Finally, how about a CHOCOLATE courgette cake?