Ingredients
300g caster sugar
300g butter, softened
Zest of 2 lemons, juice of 1
4 eggs
350g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
300g courgettes (2 medium courgettes)

Ingredients for the filling
150g lemon curd
100g icing sugar
Juice of 1 lemon
250g mascarpone
100g double cream

Equipment
Grater
Clean tea towel
Stand mixer fitted with a flat beater
2 x 20cm loose bottomed cake tins

Method
Start by preheating the oven to 180c and grease and line the two tins with baking or parchment paper.

Coarsely grate the courgettes into a clean tea towel.  When the courgettes are fully grated, gather up the corners and twist the tea towel, gently squeezing the liquid out, the liquid will start to come out slowly but once it starts you will be amazed how much comes out.

Put the butter and sugar into the stand mixer and mix on medium for a few minutes until light and fluffy.  Add the lemon zest and mix again briefly before adding the eggs one at a time, thoroughly mixing between each.  Don’t worry if the mixture looks like scrambled eggs at any point during this process, it does come back.

Into the flour, add the baking powder and bicarb and mix through.  Add the flour to the stand mixer and mix until just incorporated.

Take the bowl from the stand mixer and, using a spatula, scrape down the sides before adding the courgettes and the lemon juice.  Gently stir through to combine and divide the mixture equally between the two tins.  Level off the top of the mixture in both tins and put into the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes.

You will know your cake is done when it is golden, has come away from the edges and a skewer comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and cool for at least 15 minutes in the tin before turning out onto a cooling rack and cooling completely.

For decoration purposes, the tops will both face inside.

Once the cake is completely cool, spread the lemon curd over the tops of one of the cakes.

Sieve the icing sugar into a stand mixer with the lemon juice and mascarpone and over a low speed, mix until just incorporated.  Add the double cream and mix until fully mixed through and thick - do not be temped to beat too long or this mixture will go runny.