Zucchini Cream Cheese Cake with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting

5 food combinations that just shouldn't work but so do: 

1. Let's start with a pure winner- maple syrup and bacon, preferably with pancakes. Thank you Canada, we almost forgive you for spawning Justin Bieber... I said almost.

2. Strawberries and balsamic vinegar - Try this refreshing taste on strawberry shortcake with this recipe for strawberry shortcake with a balsamic reduction from Neven Maguire (apologies in advance for the photography on this one! My first ever post).

3. Chili andchocolate - add some pizaz to the family favourite by putting some dark chocolate into your chilli con carne, sortedfood.com chilli con carne

4. Beetroot and chocolate- I adore this Beetroot and chocolate cake I started making a few years ago

5. Zucchini in cake

See my segway (apparently the correct term is 'segue') there?? Seamless.

I think it's fair to say that zucchini (which I think we Europeans refer to as courgette) is an unsuspecting cake ingredient. But hey why should carrots get all the vegetables-you-can-put-in-a-in cake glory. This cake is deliciously moist, lightly spiced and super comforting.

From Joy the Baker Cookbook

Makes one large 2L bundt cake

For the cake 
3 cups plain flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
8oz/200g cream cheese, softened
2 cups caster sugar
3 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
8oz/200g unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 cups grated courgette/zucchini

1. Preheat the oven to 180oC. Grease your bundt tin thoroughly but brushing with butter, dusting with flour and then placing in the fridge until required.
2. Beat the cream cheese and sugar together until well incorporated, around 2 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla and beat briefly again.
3. Pour in the melted butter while the beater is going and beat until the mixture is smooth.
4. Sift the flour, baking powder and baking soda into a clean bowl. Add the salt.
5. Tip the flour mix into the wet mix all in one go. Beat until just incorporated and then fold in the zucchini carefully.
6. Spoon/Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 45 to 50 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.

For the brown sugar cream cheese frosting:
8oz/200g cream cheese softened
4oz/100g unsalted butter softened
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tsp treacle
pinch of salt
1 1/4 cups icing sugar sifted
2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Beat the cream cheese with an electric bear for 1 minute until soft. Add the softened butter and beat for another minute.
2. Add the brown sugar and treacle and beat briefly.
3. Turn the mixture to low and add the salt and powdered sugar following by the vanilla.
4. Beat on low until the mixture is smooth and there are no traces of icing sugar.
5. Spread over the cake and decorate with whole walnuts.