A Teatime Treat

 

As the weekend approaches I often think about baking a treat for family and visitors – and I like to make something that I can eat too! This is a tea loaf that is great for everyone and has a moist texture as well as dense chocolate flavour that really hits the spot. You could if you feel so inclined drizzle a little extra chocolate on top but it doesn’t need it. 

The wonderfully moist texture comes from the grated courgette/zucchini (don’t worry you can’t see it when the loaf is baked). It’s a sweet treat that keeps fabulously well in an airtight tin for up to 5 days (if it lasts that long!) but also freezes well too – I cut mine into slices to freeze for up to 3 months.

 

MOIST CHOCOLATE TEA LOAF

Ingredients

METRIC/US

low-fat cooking spray or mist

100 g/4 oz low-fat spread (I used Flora Light)

10 tbsp Splenda granulated sweetener

3 eggs

100 g plain wholemeal flour/1 cup all-purpose wholemeal flour

2 tsp baking powder

150 g/11/2 cups ground almonds

1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

200 g/7 oz finely grated courgette/zucchini

85 g/31/2 oz no-sugar-added plain chocolate, melted

 

METHOD

1.  Preheat the oven to 180 C/350 F/gas mark 4. Spritz the base and sides of a 900 g/2 lb non-stick loaf tin/pan with low-fat spray or mist and line the base with baking parchment.

2.  Beat the low-fat spread with the sweetener until light and fluffy.

3.  Add the eggs, 4 tbsp of the flour and the baking powder and beat well to combine.

4.  Add the ground almonds, cocoa powder, remaining flour and mix well. Finally fold in the courgette/zucchini and melted chocolate and mix well to combine.

5.  Spoon into the preparedtin/pan and bake in the oven for about 50 minutes until well-risen and cooked. Test by inserting a skewer – if it comes out clean of mixture then it is cooked. Cool in the tin for 15 minutes then transfer to a rack to cool completely. Serve thinly sliced.

 

MAKES: 16 slices

WLS PORTION: 1/2-1 slice

V suitable for Vegetarians

 

CALORIES PER SLICE: 143

PROTEIN: 5g

CARBOHYDRATE: 8.8g

FAT: 10.2g