Preheat your oven to 180°C (350°F) fan-forced. Grease and line a 20cm (8-inch) round cake tin with parchment paper. The paper should come up about 2cm above the rim for easy lifting later.

Whisk the dry ingredients together. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt, and cinnamon. Whisk them thoroughly until the mixture looks pale and uniform, with no lumps of bicarbonate of soda visible.

Mix the wet ingredients. In a separate large bowl, whisk the eggs and both sugars together until the mixture becomes thick, pale, and slightly frothy – this should take about 2 minutes of vigorous whisking. The colour should shift from golden to a light cream, and you should see ribbons fall from the whisk when lifted.

Add the oil and vanilla. Pour in the vegetable oil and vanilla extract, then whisk again until the mixture is smooth and glossy, with a single, cohesive sheen across the surface.

Combine wet and dry ingredients. Pour the wet mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients. Using a rubber spatula, fold gently – do not stir vigorously. Fold just until you see the last streak of flour disappear. The batter will look thick and slightly lumpy, and that is exactly right.

Fold in the courgette and chocolate chips. Add the squeezed-dry grated courgette and the chocolate chips. Fold them in with 8-10 strokes of the spatula. The batter should now look speckled with green and dark brown, and it will feel heavy and thick in the bowl. The aroma of cinnamon and vanilla will be quite prominent at this stage.

Bake until golden and springy. Scrape the batter into the prepared tin and spread it evenly. Bake for 45-50 minutes. After 40 minutes, check the cake: the top should be a deep golden brown, and the edges should be pulling away slightly from the parchment paper. Insert a skewer into the centre – it should come out with a few moist crumbs attached, but no wet batter. The kitchen will smell of warm, spiced chocolate.

Cool completely before slicing. Place the tin on a wire cooling rack and let the cake rest for 15 minutes. Then, lift it out using the parchment paper and transfer it directly to the rack to cool fully for at least 1 hour. The cake will feel firm to the touch but very tender when you press it gently. Do not slice while warm, or it will crumble.