Happy Halloween

Halloween pumpkin cake

Ingredients

For the cake

·         300g self-raising flour

·         300g light muscovado sugar

·         3 tsp mixed spice

·         2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

·         175g sultanas

·         ½ tsp salt

·         4 eggs, beaten

·         200g butter, melted

·         zest 1 orange

·         1 tbsp orange juice

·         500g (peeled weight) pumpkin or butternut squash flesh, grated

For drenching and frosting

·         200g pack soft cheese

·         85g butter, softened

·         100g icing sugar, sifted

·         zest 1 orange and juice of half

Method

Heat oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Butter and line a 30 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. Beat the eggs into the melted butter, stir in the orange zest and juice, then mix with the dry ingredients till combined. Stir in the pumpkin. Pour the batter into the tin and bake for 30 mins, or until golden and springy to the touch.

2.      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.

3.      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.

Recipe from Good Food magazine, October 2007

Tip Try this

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. If you’re not carving out a pumpkin this year butternut squash works brilliantly, too.