As the clocks go back and the nights draw in it’s time to light the fires and cosy up with hot drinks and cake. This is an adaptation of my Grandmother’s delicious gingerbread recipe with a surprise ingredient; pumpkin and ginger cake has to be the perfect Halloween and Bonfire Night offering!
This ginger cake is full of treacly goodness with a bit of ginger heat and is perfect washed down with a glass of hot spiced apple juice or a mug of hot chocolate. It improves with age as the flavours develop so enjoy a slice warm from the oven with a dollop of ice cream, another one with your elevenses the next day and perhaps another slice for supper with your cocoa!
Cut your pumpkin and ginger cake into generous pieces and decorate each piece with a swirl of spiced buttercream or a drizzle of glacé icing topped with a piece of stem ginger. Or leave them plain like I have here, pop them in a tin and take them out to the bonfire!
I haven’t seen this lovely special edition Lyle’s Trick or Treacle tins around this year – if you see one do give me a shout, I’d love to have one in my cupboard for Halloween again this year!
Pumpkin and Ginger Cake
Ingredients
- 125 g 4oz butter
- 75 g 3oz dark muscovado sugar
- 150 g 5oz black treacle
- 150 g 5oz golden syrup
- 250 g 9oz grated pumpkin (I used butternut squash here but this is a really good recipe for using up all the innards from those carving pumpkins!)
- 300 g 11oz plain flour
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 2 - 3 tsp ground ginger 2tsps is lovely, 3 tsps gives it more fire!
- 2 eggs beaten
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4.
- Grease and baseline a 23cm square cake tin.
- Measure the golden syrup, black treacle, sugar and butter into a medium pan (I put the pan on my scales and measure into it as it makes it SO much easier with the sticky syrup and treacle!), place it over a gentle heat and stir until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved. Allow to cool.
- Measure the grated pumpkin, flour, bicarb and ginger into a large bowl and mix together thoroughly with a wooden spoon.
- Mix the beaten eggs into your cooled treacle mixture until well combined, pour into your pumpkin mixture and stir well.
- Pour the mixture into your prepared tin and bake in the middle of your preheated oven for 30-40 minutes until firm and your kitchen smells of gingery, treacly goodness!
- Allow to cool in the tin before cutting into pieces.
- Stores well in an airtight tin.
You might also like our spooky Cobweb Cake and our Creepy Spider Cookies for Halloween and, if you have vegans coming to feast, our Vegan Sticky Gingerbread goes down a (trick or) treat!
The cake sounds lovely, and indeed perfect for Bonfire Night! Thanks for entering Extra Veg.
Thanks Kate!
What a fabulous cake! I nearly always use butternut in place of pumpkin as I far prefer the flavour. Thanks for sharing with #extraveg
Thank you! Yes, butternut is definitely better than common or garden pumpkin – although a Crown Prince Squash gives it a run for its money!
This recipe is fantatstic, proper delicious. Thanks for sharing.
Simon
Thank you for the recipe! Low cost, easy to make, came out perfect! I reduced the sugars and substituted them with jaggery sugar, brown sugar, Malacca sugar & a lil honey (available in M’sia). Served with Arla natural light cream cheese & homemade salted granola. Good combo!
I’m so glad it turned out well for you Sherene! Your subs sound fab too!
Where did you get the trick or treacle tins? I have tried various supermarkets to no avail!
I live in London
I bought it a few years ago and I bring it out every Halloween, sorry! I haven’t seen them for a while, if I spot any this year I’ll drop you a line!