THE DAIRY KITCHEN
Butternut Pumpkin Spice Cake with Sunflower Almond Toffee
By THE DAIRY KITCHEN
Serves
8
Difficulty
Advanced
Preparation
40 MINS
Cooking
1 HR 30 MINS
The sweetness of butternut pumpkin, similar to carrot, makes a moist and flavoursome cake and this one is topped with lashings of cream cheese frosting and topped with crunchy toffee studded with almonds and sunflower seeds.
Ingredients
500g peeled, de-seeded butternut pumpkin, cut into 2cm pieces4 eggs
1 1/2 cups caster sugar
125g butter, melted
1/2 cup natural yoghurt
1 3/4 cups flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons bicarbonate soda
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cloves
pinch salt
TOFFEE
2/3 cup slivered almonds1/3 cup sunflower seeds
1 cup sugar,extra
1/4 cup water
CREAM CHEESE ICING
250g cream cheese, softened40g butter, softened
2/3 cup icing sugar, sifted
finely grated rind of 1 lemon
2-3 teaspoons lemon juice, or to taste
Handy Tips
The cake will keep at room temperature until it is iced. Refrigerate once iced. Decorate with toffee just prior to serving. Cake will keep for approximately 4 days.
To save time, decorate the cake with a sprinkling of smashed pre-purchased peanut brittle.
Method
- Place the pumpkin on a baking paper lined oven tray and bake at 180°C for 30 minutes or until tender. Cool slightly then mash or puree.
- Beat the eggs and sugar together with an electric mixer for 2 minutes until pale and creamy. Add the melted butter and yoghurt and beat to combine. Sift together the flour, spices and bicarbonate soda, then gently mix into the egg mixture with a spoon, along with the pumpkin.
- Spoon the mixture into a buttered, base and side lined 22cm round cake tin. Bake at 180°C for 45-50 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Cool for 15 minutes before turning onto a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container until required.
- Spread the nuts and seeds over a baking paper lined oven tray and roast at 180°C for 5 minutes or until golden, cool. Place the extra sugar and water in a saucepan and heat without boiling, stirring occasionally until the sugar has dissolved. Bring to the boil, without stirring until syrup is a deep golden colour . With care, pour over the nuts and seeds and use a metal spoon or fork to ensure all the seeds are coated but remain in a single layer. Set aside to cool and harden. Store in an airtight container until required.
- For the icing, beat together the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Add the icing sugar, lemon rind and juice and beat to combine. Spread over the cake. Break the toffee into pieces and use to decorate the cake.
