My first bake on the blog in weeks and my first foray into baking with pumpkins, but sadly it didn't quite work. The cake skewer came out clean and the cake felt firm BUT MY CAKE SKEWER LIED. It became apparent that more baking was required once I cut into the cake.
However despite the very dense texture the flavours were lovely. I have to admit I was sceptical about baking with pumpkins (no idea why, just one of those unfounded notions) so I'm happy to have been proven wrong.
It tasted similar to a well spiced carrot cake but with the bonus addition of maple syrup. I added a few drops of maple syrup to the cream cheese icing as well which made it ridiculously tasty. I'll certainly try the recipe again and give it a little longer in the oven.
It tasted similar to a well spiced carrot cake but with the bonus addition of maple syrup. I added a few drops of maple syrup to the cream cheese icing as well which made it ridiculously tasty. I'll certainly try the recipe again and give it a little longer in the oven.
"Why suddenly bake with pumpkin when you think you dislike pumpkin?" I hear you ask. Well, I carved a small pumpkin this Hallowe'en in addition to my usual neepie lanterns ("neep" is Scots for turnip) and couldn't bear to waste the innards. I still think I prefer carving neeps as I like the physical challenge the Scottish tradition, however I enjoyed the orange glow of a pumpkin.
My neepie and pumpkin are on the far right. I appear to have a thing for angry teeth - it's probably the Nicolas Cage influence.
In the spirit of thriftiness I also roasted the pumpkin seeds - one tray with olive oil and a sprinkling of salt and the other with oil and chilli powder/cayenne pepper. They were so tasty, bordering on addictive!
Maple syrup and pumpkin cake
Recipe adapted from a thanksgiving pumpkin cake in the "Clandestine Cake Club Cookbook" - I halved quantities to suit the amount of pumpkin puree I had, which resulted in a teeny weeny 6 inch cake.
for the cake:
125g plain flour
125g plain flour
50g caster sugar
50g soft dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp mixed spice/ ground ginger
2 tbsp maple syrup
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp salt
125g pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 egg
60 ml sunflower oil
for the icing:
25g softened butter
50g cream cheese
50g icing sugar (I ended up adding a couple more spoonfuls to thicken my icing)
few drops of maple syrup
Preheat the oven to 200C/ Fan 180C/ Gas 6. Grease and line a 6 inch round cake tin. Mix together the flour, sugars, baking powder, spices, salt and maple syrup in a large bowl. Add the pumpkin puree, oil and eggs and mix together (in a stand mixer or with a handheld mixer) until everything is well combined.
Pour the cake mixture into the tin and bake in the middle of the oven for 25-30 minutes until risen, firm to touch and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave the cake in the tin for a few minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to cool completely.
For the icing, beat the butter until smooth then add the icing sugar. Once combined, add the cream cheese and the maple syrup and mix until the icing is light and fluffy. Feel free to add more cream cheese or icing to adjust the consistency or flavour to personal taste. Spread the icing on top of the cooled cake and finish with a dusting of icing sugar.
