With plenty of pumpkins stored away I’ve been looking for recipes to make something a little different with them. I found a scrummy recipe for pumpkin and raisin loaf cake that appealed to me, particularly the spicing which would be pleasantly warming now that colder weather has finally arrived. I realised I lacked a loaf tin so I decided to use a cake tin instead. Which is perfectly fine, but the cooking time would need to be reduced a touch.
In any case, I love cake.
The recipe is from All Recipes, I’ve tweaked it a little to suit my own taste and included the measured quantity of uncooked pumpkin and the method I used to make the puree, to make it a little easier for those who’d rather make their own.
Serves 12
Ingredients:
250g plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
200g dark brown soft sugar
75g butter
2 eggs
250g pumpkin puree
4 tablespoons milk
100g raisins
Method:
Preheat oven to 180 C / Gas mark 4.
For the pumpkin puree I measured out 800g of roughly chopped pumpkin (skin and seeds removed) and placed in a pan of boiling water, simmer for 20 minutes or so until the pumpkin pieces are soft (test with a fork). Strain water and place cooked pumpkin pieces into a fine mesh sieve, try to remove as much excess water as you can by pushing down on the pumpkin pieces with a fork to strain. Scrap the contents from the sieve into a bowl and use a hand blender to puree. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl combine flour, baking powder, spices and bicarbonate of soda. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Mix in eggs, pumpkin and milk. Stir flour mixture into wet mixture until just combined. Fold in raisins.
Pour into a 23 cm cake tin and bake for 35 – 40 minutes (test middle of cake with a skewer).
Although you can’t taste the pumpkin, the puree keeps the cake moist. After working in the vegetable garden or the allotment, enjoy a slice with a cup of hot tea. Lovely!
Now that they’re all grown up their mum doesn’t wish to roam with or raise them anymore, she prefers her own company as she did before going broody. I’m grateful for the experience of watching the chicks learn from her; how to eat crumb, scratch the ground, bathe in the dirt and catch flying insects mid-air. How she called them when she sensed danger and how they disappeared in lightning speed into her feathers for safety, their little faces peeking through her feathers to see if it was safe to come out. It’s an experience I’ll never forget.
