Spiced pumpkin cake with cream cheese icing
Bake this wonderful cake when the weather turns chilly and pumpkins are at their best. Warmed with gentle spices, which are contrasted against a pure cream cheese topping, this is a comforting, autumnal delight.
Serves 8
275g (10oz) pumpkin (peeled and deseeded weight), grated
175g (6oz) plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cinnamon
125g (4½oz) butter, melted
200g (7oz) soft light brown sugar
2 eggs
salt
For the cream cheese icing
250g (9oz) cream cheese
250g (9oz) icing sugar
900g (2lb) loaf tin
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) Gas mark 4. Grease and line the base and sides of the loaf tin with baking parchment. Put a double layer of kitchen paper on a large plate. Check that you have the correct amount of grated pumpkin. Spread the pumpkin over the paper on the plate and leave to stand, to remove any excess moisture, while you prepare the remaining ingredients.
2. Sift the flour, baking powder, ginger, cinnamon and a pinch of salt into a bowl. Pour the butter into another bowl and add the sugar and eggs, then whisk to combine well. Add the grated pumpkin, then pour all of this wet mixture into the dry ingredients and stir to combine.
3. Pour into the prepared loaf tin and bake in the centre of the oven for 80–90 minutes until deep golden brown and cooked in the centre and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
4. Leave to cool in the tin on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from the tin and leave on the wire rack to cool completely. Remove the paper.
5. Meanwhile, to make the icing, put the cream cheese in a bowl and sift in half the icing sugar. Mix to combine, then add the remaining icing sugar and mix again. Spread over the top of the cake. Cut into slices to serve.
This divine treat encompasses some of my very favourite ingredients: butter, almonds cardamom and custard. Hailing from Denmark, there are many different versions of this cake, which are often enjoyed for brunch with hot coffee. Some of them are baked in a bundt tin and are then named butter ring. This is my version of the recipe and, although it does involve a few steps and a bit of time, I promise it is worth every single minute. What a treat this is – it might just be my favourite recipe in the book!
Serves 8–10
150ml (5fl oz) milk, lukewarm
50g (1¾oz) soft light brown sugar
25g (1oz) fresh yeast or 12g (½oz) active dried yeast
350g (12oz) strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground cardamom
1 egg, beaten, plus 1 egg for the glaze
150g (5½oz) butter, cubed, plus extra for greasing
15g (½oz) almonds with skins
For the custard
250ml (9fl oz) milk
1 vanilla pod or 1 tsp vanilla extract
1 egg
50g (1¾oz) caster sugar
20g (¾oz) plain flour
For the almond paste
100g (3½oz) butter, softened
150g (5½oz) soft light brown sugar
100g (3½oz) ground almonds
6–8 drops almond extract, to taste
For the icing
150g (5½oz) icing sugar, sifted
¼ tsp ground cardamom
1–2 tbsp boiling water
23cm (9in) springform cake tin; baking tray
1. Pour the milk into a bowl, stir in the sugar and crumble in the yeast. Leave to stand for 5 minutes until creamy. Sift the flour, salt and the cardamom into the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook. Add the beaten egg to the yeast mixture and pour on to the dry ingredients, then mix thoroughly until combined.
2. While mixing, add the butter, bit by bit until combined. It should be springy when you press the dough with your finger. The mixture will also come away from the sides of the bowl. It will take about 10 minutes.
3. Cover the bowl with cling film and leave to rise for 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size. (Alternatively, put it into the fridge overnight.) The dough is ready when, having pressed it with a floured finger, the dent remains.
4. Meanwhile, make the custard. Pour the milk into a saucepan over a medium-high heat and add the vanilla pod (but not the vanilla extract). Bring to just boiling, then take the pan off the heat and leave the vanilla to infuse the milk for 5 minutes. Put the egg in a bowl, add the sugar and sift in the flour, then whisk for 1 minute until light.
5. Pour the milk on to the egg mixture, whisking all the time, then add the vanilla extract, if using. Make sure that the pan is clean with no trace of burned milk, pour the mixture back into the saucepan and whisk over a medium heat until boiling, then continue whisking for 2 minutes, in which time it will also thicken a lot. Pour into a clean bowl, then leave to cool.
6. Grease the side of the tin, and line the base with baking parchment. To make the almond paste, put the butter in a bowl and cream it with a wooden spoon until soft, or use an electric beater on slow or a food processor. Add the sugar, the ground almonds and the almond extract. Mix well, then set aside.
7. Once the dough is ready, tip it out of the bowl on to a floured work surface. Cut off one-third of the dough and cover the remaining dough with a clean tea towel. Roll the small piece of dough into a 25cm (10in) circle and put it into the base of the tin. Spread about 3 tablespoons of the almond paste over the dough to cover it, then top it with the custard, forming an even layer.
8. Roll out the remaining dough to a 28 × 40cm (11¼ × 16in) rectangle. Cover this with the remaining almond paste, then roll it up from the long side. Cut the roll evenly into 8 slices. Put one slice in the centre of the custard layer, cut-side up, then put the remaining swirls around the edge.
9. Cover the tin with cling film and leave to rise for 45 minutes or until light, puffy and doubled in size; when you gently press some dough with a floured finger the dent should remain. Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) Gas mark 4.
10. Beat the remaining egg with a pinch of salt and use to brush the cake, then bake for 30 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 160°C (315°F) Gas mark 2½ and bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Take the cake out of the oven and leave the oven on. Put the almonds on the baking tray and roast for 8–10 minutes until golden. Leave to cool.
11. Leave the cake in the tin on a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes, covered with a clean tea towel, then carefully run a small, sharp knife around the edges to free the cake from the tin, and unclip the sides. Turn it upside down to remove the tin base and the paper, then put it on a serving plate to finish cooling. Slice the cooled almonds coarsely.
12. To make the icing, sift the icing sugar and cardamom into a bowl. Add enough boiling water to make