Pumpkin Cake: Welcome Autumn!

Autumn is here! At least for us in Schleswig -north Germany- it is since last week, as we've got nothing but Autumn weather, with strong winds, storms, cold and rain, even as I write these lines.
So to make something to celebrate this change of seasons, and to use of a beautiful Pumpkin we bought 2 weeks ago, I made this delicious Pumpkin Cake recipe I'm going to share with all of you as an introduction to future recipes in our Team Blog.

This recipe is a personal adaptation of one I made long ago from a Vegetarian food book (that sadly I don't have anymore). This Pumpkin Cake basic recipe, it is not only really easy and quick to make (around 10 minutes to prepare, and 40 to 45 to bake), but it is also really healthy and nurturing, because it combines the delicious soft taste of the pumpkin, just some grams of butter, only 2 eggs, some oat flakes, not much sugar and topping the cake, roasted pumpkin seeds to decorate and give this delicious crunchiness that I love so much on this cake. And you can enjoy it as it comes from the oven, or decorate it as you wish. To decorate I recommend a natural -or even better- lemon or orange cheese cream. It is heaven made cake!

I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

Pumpkin Cake

Ingredients:

• 250 gr All purpose flour
• 50 gr Oat flakes
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• Pinch of Salt
• 400 gr Shredded Pumpkin
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 120 gr Butter or Margarine (soft or melted)
• 2 Large Eggs
• 150 gr Brown sugar

Preparation:

Preheat oven at 180°C/350°F. Cut the piece of pumpkin you will use, remove and keep the seeds of your pumpkin (or you can buy ready roasted pumpkin seeds, better if not salted). Shred the pumpkin until you get the amount needed for the cake (400 gr).

Mix all the dry ingredients: flour, oat flakes, baking soda, baking powder and salt in a bowl. In another bowl, with a mixer, combine sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla, and the shredded pumpkin until all is well mixed. Add the dry ingredients slowly to the wet mix. Beat until you get a partially thick cream.

Apart, add a layer of butter on the baking pan you will use (with a cooking brush, paper towel, napkin or just your fingers), then cover evenly with a bit of flour, until you get a thin layer. This is to avoid the cake getting sticked to the pan when baking and then to be able to remove it easier when it is cooling down.



Bake for around 40 minutes. Insert a wood stick or a clean knife in the middle of the cake. If it comes clean, your cake is done. While the cake is in the oven, you can prepare the seeds. Wash them well and remove any rest of pumpkin meat. Dry them with kitchen paper or a clean towel.

Place them into an oil free preheated pan, and move them constantly until they are roasted on both sides. Sometimes they will stick between each other. Separate them and continue moving until roasted, be careful not to burn them.

When ready, let them cool down for a while. Then grind them on your kitchen machine or a mill until they are really small pieces. Keep for frosting.

Warning: the smell that will come from your oven when baking it is almost irresistible!

Additional Lemon Cheese Cream:

• 1 bag of 3 minutes ready Lemon Cream (or no cooking lemon cream/pudding cream, etc)
• 200 ml Milk
• 180 gr Cheese Cream (Philadelphia)

Beat the Lemon Cream with the Milk according to package instructions. It will be thicker. When ready, add the Cheese Cream.

You can decorate the cake or cut the cake in layers and add the cream in between. To finish, cover with the roasted and grounded Pumpkin Seeds.

Enjoy!