Do you love pumpkins? Ever heard that pumpkins can also be used to bake a cake? Relish on this recipe that is sure to satisfy your taste buds and leave a scent in your home that is so divine.




Size: 8-inches

Ingredients
3 Eggs, beaten (Vegans can use egg replacement powder)
50g chopped nuts (eg. Hazelnuts, Almond, Brazil nuts, Macadamia etc.)
400g Pumpkin Puree
300g Castor Sugar
300g Plain Flour
200ml Vegetable Oil
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda
1 tsp Ground Nutmeg
1 tsp Ground Allspice
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1 tsp Ground Cloves
¼ tsp Salt



Method:

To make the pumpkin puree:
1) Peel, de-seed and cut about 500g of pumpkin into even cubes.
2) Steam the pumpkin cubes for 20 minutes or until they can be mashed easily.
3) Pass the steamed pumpkin cubes through a fine sieve and ready to use.
4) Alternatively, get the ready-made pumpkin puree available at any markets or grocery stores. I personally prefer to choose the pumpkin and prepare my own fresh pumpkin puree.

NOTE: While steaming the pumpkin cubes, pre-heat the oven to 180°C, measure all the ingredients, and prepare the cake mould.



Preparing the cake mould
NOTE: This is to prevent the cake from sticking to the cake mould:

1) Brush a very thin layer of vegetable oil to cover the whole inside surface of the cake mould.
2) Coat the brushed surface with plain flour and it is now ready to be used.



Making the cake batter:
1) Cream the vegetable oil, beaten eggs (or egg replacement powder), pumpkin puree and vanilla extract with a mixer or a hand blender until they are thoroughly mixed and slightly increased in volume.

2) Mix in the castor sugar, plain flour, bicarbonate of soda, salt and all the spices stated in the recipe. When the batter is well mixed, taste it. The above reference of the quantity of spices is only a guide. You can adjust the amount of spices according to your taste.

3) Mix into the batter some chopped assorted nuts. I personally like to use only hazelnuts (cut into quarters).

4) Pour the batter into the cake mould. Make the surface of the batter even (this can be achieved by banging the cake mould against the table a few times). Also get rid of the air bubbles in between the cake better and the cake mould. No tools are required after these 2 steps. The cake's surface will even up more during the baking process.



Baking the Rustic Pumpkin Cake:
1) Bake the cake batter in the pre-heated oven at 180°C for 1 hour or until a cake tester comes out clean when inserted into the cake center. Don’t have a cake tester? You could penetrate a small knife into the center of the cake, if the knife comes out clean indicates that the cake is cooked, if the cake batter sticks to the knife or cake tester, continue the baking process and repeat the test again until the cake is fully baked.

2) When the cake is ready, take it out from the oven and let it cool down on a cooling rack.

3) Un-mould the cake onto a cake board.

TIP: While baking the cake, clean the work station and get ready for decorations and service.



Decorating the Rustic Pumpkin Cake:
1) If you find that your cake has a cracked surface, not to worry. It is normal. This gives the cake a rustic appearance and I love it! You could present the cake just like this or dust some icing sugar on the top of the cake to intensify the rustic appearance, as visible in the picture above.

2) For those who are not a fan of the rustic-like appearance and would like to have decorations on the cake, let the cake cool down, then slice off the top of the cake. The cake is now ready to be decorate like any other cakes with icing etc.



Serving the cake:
Serve the cake warm while the crust on the surface is still hard and crispy while the cake center is soft, moist and so flavourful. I just cannot resist it! What are you waiting for? Try the recipe now and invite some friends over to enjoy the evening together over tea.



Other Tasty Recipes:
South Indian Homemade Dessert: Rava Kesari
Badam Milk Recipe
Shitake Delight



Author: Tey Chee Seng
Editor: Genevieve Tan Shu Thung

Copyright © 2012 Sandhya Maarga Holistic Living Resources
Holistic Living Annex (Volume 1, Issue 5 - JUNE 2012 Edn)