Pumpkin Cake

Traditional autumn flavours are abundant in this super moist pumpkin cake, you’ll definitely bake this more than once!   Preparation time: 30 mins Baking time: 40 mins Ingredients | Serves 8 For the cake:

• 400g golden caster sugar
• 250ml vegetable oil
• 4 large eggs
• 260g plain flour
• 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1x 425g can pumpkin purée
• 65g chopped pecans

For the icing:

• 60g butter, softened
• 1x 250g pack cream cheese, room temperature
• 450g icing sugar, sifted
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

For the decoration:

• 3 tbsp caster sugar
• 1 tbsp water
• 1 apple
• Orange sugarpaste optional
• Green sugarpaste optional

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180˚C/160˚C fan/ gas mark 4 and butter and flour two 23cm round cake tins. For the cake, beat together the sugar, vegetable oil and eggs in a large mixing bowl until fully combined. Sift the dry ingredients into a separate bowl and then stir into the oil mixture, again beating in well to combine before stirring in the pumpkin purée and the chopped pecans.
2. Pour the batter into the prepared tins and bake in the centre of the preheated oven for 35 to 40 mins or until a skewer when inserted, comes out clean. Cool in the tins for 5 mins then turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.
3. Make the icing by combining the butter, cream cheese, icing sugar and vanilla in a large mixing bowl; beat well until velvety smooth. Spread between the layers of the cake and on the top using a palette knife.
4. To make the optional dried apple slices, preheat the oven to 100˚C/80˚C fan/ gas mark 1/4. Place the sugar with 1 tbsp of water in a pan over a low heat. Stir until the sugar has dissolved, then increase the heat and boil for a minute before cooling for a further minute. Slice your apple very thinly and dry on kitchen paper before dunking in the water and sugar mixture and laying on greaseproof paper that has been lightly oiled with vegetable oil. Bake for 1 hour then turn and bake for another 30 mins until you have dried out but sticky slices. Move to a cooling tray to crisp up before using as decoration.

TIP: * We added an extra autumn flourish with a sugarpaste pumpkin, which we modelled free hand. For an elegant finish top the white icing with the candied apple slices only.