Courgettes and other lovely tender summer squashes, such as patty pans and crooknecks, work really well in baking. Much like carrots, they add moisture, body and a subtle aroma that lends itself to sweet and savoury baking.

Look for courgettes so fresh they almost vibrate – the ones with a bit of spiky fuzz and a firm, taut skin. Don’t settle for produce that is shrivelling and drying out, even if you’re told they will be “great for baking”. I’m not talking about fruits and vegetables that are simply less attractive – the ones the farmers have trouble selling to large supermarkets. (These “ugly fruits”, as they are sometimes called, are a different thing to ones that are about to start decomposing). When fruits and vegetables start to wither, their essence also fades and it becomes difficult to appreciate them.

I want the freshest and tastiest available – and you should, too. Flavour is everything, so start with the closest thing to just-picked, and as close to the height of their season, as you can get, and your baking will instantly improve.

Both of this week’s bakes require grating and salting the courgette for at least an hour. This leaches out the excess water, which will be the difference between a light and fluffy bake, and a heavy and stodgy one. The first recipe is a sweet courgette loaf cake, which in America we call zucchini bread. Zucchini, our name for courgettes, is a great vegetable to grow in home gardens because it is prolific and robust, but you usually end up with more than you can eat, so when some inventive home cook first came up with the idea for a loaf cake, it became a classic. Although it’s made with wholemeal flour, it is anything but heavy. The cake has a delicate crumb and just the right amount of spice. I use einkorn flour, an ancient grain that’s in the wheat family but a less modified variety with a lovely nuttiness. You could also use spelt, emmer (farro) or common wholewheat.

I’ve also made French cheese puffs, or gougères, with my grated courgettes. They are the perfect snack with a drink of something cold and fizzy. Reason alone to have a summer party.

Zucchini olive oil bread

Makes 1 900g loaf
500g courgettes, grated
1 tsp salt
Butter, for greasing
20g einkorn or wholemeal flour
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp ground cardamom
200g olive oil
200g light brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 tbsp vanilla
70g knob of ginger, peeled and grated (around 50g after peeling)

1 Grate the courgette and toss with the salt. Put in a colander over a bowl, and allow the liquid to leach from the courgettes for 3 hours, or overnight. You will lose around 150g in liquid.

2 Set the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Butter and line a 900g (2lb) loaf tin with parchment.

3 Sift the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder and cardamom together.

4 In a separate bowl, whisk the oil, sugar, eggs, vanilla and ginger together. Add the drained courgette. Stir in the dry ingredients, mixing until just incorporated. Tip into the prepared loaf tin, and bake for around 50 minutes, or until the bread is golden and springs back to the touch.

Courgette and marjoram gougères

You can freeze the scooped gougères on their trays and bake as needed. Just add 10 minutes to the baking time.

Makes 12
50g courgettes, grated
1 tsp fine sea salt
300ml skimmed milk, plus 1 tbsp for egg wash
125g unsalted butter
140g plain flour
3 eggs, plus 1 for egg wash
100g gruyère, grated, plus extra for topping
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp fresh marjoram or oregano, chopped
30g parmesan
Flaky sea salt, for topping

1 Toss the courgette in the salt. Put in a colander over a bowl for at least an hour. You will lose about 10g in liquid.

2 Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. Line two baking trays with parchment.

3 Place the milk and butter in a heavy-based saucepan. Warm on a medium heat until the butter melts. Bring to the boil. Add the flour; and stir well until the mixture forms a smooth paste and starts to coat the bottom of the pan. Remove from the heat.

4 Stir in 3 eggs, one by one, mixing until smooth after each addition. Add the courgette, grated gruyère and seasoning then stir well.

5 To make the egg wash, lightly beat the last egg with 1 tbsp milk.

6 Use a 6cm ice-cream scoop to portion balls of dough on to a baking tray 4cm apart. You will be able to fit 6 gougères on to each tray. Brush with the egg wash, then grate the parmesan over the top and sprinkle with flaky sea salt.

7 Bake for 45 minutes, or until the gougères are puffed up and have turned a deep golden colour. Pierce each gougère with a skewer to allow steam to escape. Serve warm, or allow to cool.

• Claire Ptak is an author and food stylist and owns Violet Bakery in London. She is the author of the Violet Bakery Cookbook (Square Peg); @violetcakeslondon