Page 140 - NT 2022 Almanac

Recipe for Pumpkin Gingerbread
This is a tasty way to use up all the pumpkin flesh that you have to scoop out before you can carve it into a pumpkin lantern.
You will need:
900 g loaf tin Greaseproof paper
2 microwave-proof bowls Potato masher
Sieve
Large mixing bowl Wooden spoon
Food processor (optional) Whisk
Metal skewer
Wire rack
Butter for greasing 250 g pumpkin flesh, roughly chopped
50 g black treacle
140 g golden syrup 140 g light brown soft sugar
100 ml semi-skimmed milk 225 g self-raising flour
1 teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda
1 tablespoon of ground ginger
2 teaspoons of allspice Pinch of salt
100 g cold butter, diced
2 medium eggs, beaten 10 chunks of crystallised stem ginger, finely chopped
1 Heat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/ Gas Mark 4.
2 Grease and line the loaf tin with greaseproof paper.
3 Put the pumpkin flesh into a microwave-proof bowl.
4 Cook on a high heat in the microwave for 5–10 minutes, until the pumpkin is soft. 5 Drain off any liquid and mash the flesh
with a potato masher or fork.
6 Measure the treacle, syrup, sugar and
milk into another microwave-proof bowl and heat it for about 2 minutes until the sugar has dissolved.
7 Sieve the flour, bicarbonate of soda, spices and a pinch of salt into the food processor.
8 Tip in the diced butter and whizz everything together until no big lumps remain.
9 Whisk the mashed pumpkin and the egg into the sugar mixture.
10 Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients to make a batter.
11 Pour into the loaf tin and scatter most of the crystallised ginger on top.
12 Bake for 45 minutes until a skewer poked into the centre comes out with moist crumbs attached.
13 Scatter over the remaining ginger, then cool the cake in the tin on a wire rack.
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