Lemon Courgette Cake with Poppy Seeds

This refined sugar free Lemon Courgette Cake is sprinkled with poppy seeds and topped with a tangy naturally sweetened lemon glaze. Dense and moist, this courgette loaf cake uses simple ingredients and is very easy to make – perfect for an afternoon cuppa in the garden!

I think by now everyone knows that I’m a fan of lemon desserts.

In fact, I’m a little surprised that it’s taken me this long to get a lemon poppy seed dessert up on the blog. It’s one of my favourite combos!

But never fear, this Lemon Courgette Cake with Poppy Seeds is here to remedy that. And man, oh, man, is this one for the recipe books! I could eat this loaf cake all day long.

This is the perfect dessert to make during summer when the courgettes begin to take over your garden. It’s tangy and sweet and super simple to make. I know you’re going to love this one as much as I do!

Why you’ll love this recipe

• This is not your run-of-the-mill courgette cake. It’s zesty, lemony, sweet, and a bit caramelly thanks to the coconut sugar.
• Reminiscent of a pound cake, this Lemon Courgette Cake is on the denser side and incredibly moist. It pairs perfectly with an afternoon cuppa!
• You want a simple cake? You got it. This courgette loaf is easy to make and uses simple ingredients – most of which you likely already have in your pantry.
• This loaf is naturally sweetened with coconut sugar, making it completely refined sugar free. Even the optional lemon glaze is sweetened with honey!

Ingredients in this courgette loaf cake

• Plain flour: Provides structure to our Lemon Courgette Cake.
• Baking soda: The soda reacts with the lemon juice to provide extra lift, since this cake batter is on the thicker side.
• Baking powder: Reacts with the heat of the oven and helps the cake to rise.
• Sea salt: A little salt goes a long way to make the flavour perfect.
• Grated courgette: Obviously the star of the show. For perfect results, be sure to squeeze out the extra moisture from the courgette after grating.
• Unsalted butter: Makes the cake luscious and flavourful. I haven’t tried this cake with oil, so I can’t confirm it will work the same.
• Coconut sugar: Our natural sweetener of choice. Coconut sugar is light enough to pair with the heavy courgette and adds a beautiful caramel note.
• Eggs: Our binding ingredient!
• Pure vanilla extract: Adds a little extra flavour.
• Milk: To loosen the batter a little.
• Lemons: Our other key ingredient. We’re using both the zest and juice to create delicious lemony flavour.
• Poppy seeds: I love adding poppy seeds to this courgette loaf, but they aren’t completely necessary. You can leave them out if you don’t have them!

How to make this lemon courgette cake

If you’re new to baking, this Lemon Courgette Cake with Poppy Seeds is a great place to start. It’s a simple recipe that is very easy to do. Here’s how to make it:

1. Mix together the dry ingredients.
2. Mix together the wet ingredients.
3. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.
4. Bake the loaf cake.
5. Drizzle over the optional glaze.

Tips for making this recipe perfectly

• Squeeze out the excess moisture from your courgette. This step is crucial to ensure the batter isn’t too wet. I grate my courgette, squeeze out the moisture using a nut milk bag, and then weigh the squeezed gratings.
• Grease the corners of your tin well to prevent sticking. I had one test batch stick in the corners because I didn’t grease it well enough. Give those corners a little extra love!
• Watch the loaf after the 35 minute mark to prevent over-browning. Have a layer of foil ready to throw on top of your cake if it starts to look a little too brown after 35 minutes. It will look quite dark naturally due to the coconut sugar, but we don’t want it to burn!

Looking for more refined sugar free lemon desserts?

No Bake Strawberry Lemon Cheesecake Bars
Honey and Lemon Shortbread Bars
Mini Lemon Lavender Cakes

If you make this recipe, let me know by snapping a picture and tagging me on Instagram @naturallysweet_kitchen. I love seeing your creations and sharing them in my Stories. Or let me know you love this Lemon Courgette Cake with Poppy Seeds by leaving a comment and rating below!

5 from 1 vote

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Lemon Courgette cake with Poppy Seeds

This refined sugar free Lemon Courgette Cake is sprinkled with poppy seeds and topped with a tangy naturally sweetened lemon glaze.

Category Bread, Cake, Dessert

Cuisine American, British

Keyword courgette cake recipe, courgette loaf, courgette loaf cake, healthy courgette cake, lemon courgette cake, lemon poppy seed zucchini bread, lemon zucchini bread

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Serves 10 slices

Author Amanda | Naturally Sweet Kitchen

Ingredients

Lemon Courgette Cake

• 125 g unbleached plain flour
• 125 g coconut sugar
• 1 tbsp poppy seeds
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp fine sea salt
• 56 g unsalted butter melted and cooled
• 2 large eggs room temperature
• 2 tbsp lemon zest (about 2 medium lemons)
• 2 tbsp milk
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
• 150 g grated and squeezed courgette (about 1 medium courgette)

Lemon Glaze (Optional)

• 1 tbsp plain flour
• 75 ml milk
• 2 tbsp unpasteurised honey
• Pinch fine sea salt
• 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice

Method

Lemon Courgette Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 170ºC (335ºF) and grease and line a 20 x 10 cm (8 x 4 in) loaf tin with non-stick baking paper. Be sure to leave a couple inches of overhang for easy removal.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, coconut sugar, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the melted butter, eggs, lemon zest, milk, lemon juice, and vanilla extract until well combined. Stir in the grated courgette, making sure the strands are loose and not clumped together.
4. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients. Stir everything together until combined and smooth.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf tin and bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean or with a few crumbs attached.
6. Remove the courgette loaf from the oven and allow to cool in the tin for 15 minutes. Then lift the cake from the tin, remove the baking paper, and allow it to finish cooling on a wire rack.

Lemon Glaze (Optional)

1. In a small saucepan, whisk together the flour and milk over a medium-low heat until slightly thickened. It should be able to lightly coat the back of a spoon.
2. Remove the mixture from the heat and whisk in the honey, salt, and lemon juice. Strain the glaze through a metal sieve to remove any excess flour lumps. Allow to sit and cool to room temperature before drizzling the glaze over the cake.

Notes

Unglazed, this cake will keep wrapped in foil at room temperature for up to 4 days.