This week we’re baking! Because you know, there’s nothing better than a freshly baked cake to accompany your favourite cup of tea or coffee. Especially if the cake in question is made with interesting ingredients! Remember last year’s apple cake? Or the petimezopita? This time we are using pumpkin. You might have guessed it by now that this orange vegetable is our favourite one for this time of the year. You know, this pumpkin soup or the that butternut squash soup and how about a tart or a risotto?
There is something really unique about this pumpkin cake. It is both comforting and very exciting at the same time. The pumpkin makes it very moist inside, and the plump raisins add extra toffee-like sweetness. This recipe also lays somewhere between autumn and winter. It has the autumn-y pumpkin and the fragrant spices we often associate with winter.
You will need:
700g pumpkin
120ml olive oil
120ml water
70g Corinth raisins
150g flour
100g of brown sugar
5g baking soda
10g baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
6 cloves
½ nutmeg grated
2 generous pinches of salt
5 pinches of grated cardamom
Preheat your oven at 180C.
Peel the pumpkin and remove its seeds. Chop in small pieces. Place your pumpkin pieces in a small pot over medium low heat, until soft. Mash up with a fork. Alternatively, you can cut the pumpkin in half, bake in the oven, and then scoop out its flesh. If you have some lumps remaining in your pumpkin mash it’s fine. Let it cool.
In a bowl mix the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices. In another bowl mix the water with the olive oil, raisins and the pumpkin puree.
Using a wooden spoon stir together the wet and dry ingredients. Be careful not to over mix them. Taste the batter. Are you a fan of cinnamon? Add more. Do you feel you want more cardamom? Go right ahead.
Pour into a baking tray and bake in the oven for 30-40min, until cake is cooked through, yet moist inside.
Now, put the kettle on and get that lovely teapot out of the cupboard.
