Zucchini, golden raisin & pistachio cake

Makes a (2lb) 8½ × 4½ inch loaf

At the end of our street is the head office of Caprice Holdings Ltd, the group that operates some of the best and glitziest restaurants in London. Alvin and Kate work there, and treat us as their canteen. We know Alvin’s weird coffee order, and that Kate will have hot chocolate in winter and sparkling lemonade in the warmer months. They are both great lovers of cake, and whenever there is a birthday in the office we get an order for one with some silly writing on it—“Cheers, all the best” or “Shiiiiiiiit”—often private jokes that only they understand. This cake is their absolute favorite (they have a horrible nickname for it—“the green goddess” or “green velvet”), so this recipe is for them, in the hope that they will never bake it themselves, but instead keep on coming to us for it.

60g pistachios

175g self-rising flour (or 175g all-purpose flour plus 1¾ tsp baking powder)

a pinch of table salt

1 tsp ground ginger

½ tsp ground star anise

200g light brown sugar

50g granulated sugar

175g/185ml olive oil

2 eggs

60g golden raisins

3 zucchini, unpeeled but trimmed, grated (200g)

zest of 1 lemon

Preheat the oven to 375°F/350°F convection. Butter an 8½ × 4½ inch loaf tin and line the base and long sides with a sheet of baking parchment, allowing a little overhang at the sides. Once the oven is hot, roast the pistachios for 8 minutes. Keep them whole and leave to cool a little.

Mix the flour, salt, ginger and star anise together and add the pistachios. Place the sugars and oil in a large mixing bowl (or you could use a machine with a whisk attachment if you are super-lazy) and whisk together until combined. Whisk the eggs in one at a time and keep whisking until you have a lovely emulsified texture, a little like mayonnaise. Now add the rest of the ingredients, get rid of the whisk and use a large spoon or spatula to fold and combine to an even mixture.

Transfer the cake batter to your lined loaf tin and bake for 35 minutes. Turn the tin around so that it bakes evenly and leave for a further 15–20 minutes. The end result should have a lovely springy feel. Allow to cool in the tin before removing. This will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days and for up to a week if you store it in the fridge.