This cake is moist and tasty, and perfect for cooking throughout the winter for as long as your pumpkins are usable, and butternut squash works well too. The cake doesn’t keep more than a few days but can be frozen. For a special extra sweet and seasonal Halloween treat, make the frosting to go on the top. This went down a treat with people attending the WEGA Annual General Meeting on 12th November 2022!
Cooking time Prep: 20 mins Cook: 30 mins (more if smaller/deeper tin)
Ingredients: For the cake (bigger quantities in brackets)
- 225 (300g) self-raising flour
- 225 (300g) light muscovado or other brown sugar
- 2 (3) heaped teaspoons mixed spice
- 1 (2 teaspoons) heaped teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
- 130 (175) g sultanas or raisins (3 handfuls – optional)
- ½ tsp salt
- 3 (4) eggs, beaten
- 150 (200)g butter, melted
- zest 1 orange and 1 tablespoon orange juice (optional)
- 375 (500g) (peeled weight) pumpkin or butternut squash flesh, grated
For drenching and frosting (optional)
- 150 (200)g soft (cream) cheese
- 60 (85) g butter, softened
- 75 (100)g icing sugar, sifted
- zest 1 orange and juice (about a tablespoon)(juice of half orange)
Method
- Heat oven to 180C or fan 160C (Gas 4).
- Butter and line a 25 x 20cm baking or small roasting tin with baking parchment. Put the flour, sugar, spice, bicarbonate of soda, sultanas and salt into a large bowl and stir to combine.
- Melt the butter without boiling (microwave in a bowl or put on low heat in the oven for a few minutes) and beat the eggs into it.
- Stir in the orange zest and juice if used,
- Mix the butter/egg mix into the dry ingredients till combined.
- Finally stir in the pumpkin.
- Pour the batter into the tin and bake for 30 mins, or until golden and springy to the touch. Pumpkins can vary dramatically in water content, so keep an eye on the cake towards the end of cooking – yours may take less or more time to cook through.
- Take from oven, cool for a few minutes and turn out on to a rack to cool.
Frosting
- To make the frosting, beat together the cheese, butter, icing sugar, orange zest and 1 tsp of the juice till smooth and creamy, then set aside in the fridge. When the cake is done, cool for 5 mins then turn it onto a cooling rack. Prick it all over with a skewer and drizzle with the rest of the orange juice while still warm. Leave to cool completely.
- If you like, trim the edges of the cake. Give the frosting a quick beat to loosen, then, using a palette knife, spread over the top of the cake in peaks and swirls. If you’re making the cake ahead, keep it in the fridge then take out as many pieces as you want 30 mins or so before serving. Will keep, covered, for up to 3 days in the fridge.