Chocolate, Courgette & Orange Bundt

My eldest daughter's birthday is in early October so when it comes to birthday cakes she often gets something containing courgette or pumpkin. Fortunately, she is very obliging in this regard and will actually request cakes containing these seasonal ingredients. This year she wanted Pumpkin and Orange Traybake as her birthday cake so I duly obliged. 

Last year she wasn't so sure, although she said something chocolately would be nice and maybe something chocolate orange. And so I made her a chocolate orange bundt cake... with some courgette in it. And coated in a ridiculously indulgent chocolate ganache. She was suitably pleased.

Chocolate, Courgette & Orange Bundt

170g softened butter
275g caster sugar
3 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
Zest and juice from 1 orange
300g plain flour
50g cocoa powder
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of salt
375g grated courgette

100ml double cream
200g dark chocolate
Zest of 1 orange plus 1 tbsp juice

Preheat the oven to 180°C and grease a bundt tin. Cream together the butter and sugar then beat in the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla and juice of an orange. Put the dry ingredients into the bowl then mix well. Fold in the courgette. Spoon into the tin and bake for 1 hour. Leave to cool in the tin. In the meantime, heat the cream in a saucepan then stir in the chocolate until it melts. Add the zest and 1 tbsp of juice from an orange. Leave to cool until thicken then pour the ganache over the cooled cake.