Miss Sadie K xx: baking

, by Sadie

Having never tried pumpkin before, I decided that this Halloween I was going to bake something that incorporates pumpkin into the recipe. I wanted to do something more fun than a traditional pumpkin pie so I thought I'd give a pumpkin spiced cake a go and turn it into this pumpkin shaped piñata cake, filled with a super yummy honey and cinnamon buttercream and stuffed with sweets in the middle. Pumpkin isn't really very big here in England so I apologise that the cake recipe will be in cups whilst the rest of the recipe will be in grams, but if you don't have any measuring cups there are several conversion charts online and vice versa if you only use measuring cups.

You Will Need:

1 or 2 bundt tins

Orange Fondant (approx 750g)

Green Fondant

Black Fondant

Sweets

For The Cake:

2 cups Unsalted Butter

2 1/2 cups Caster Sugar

5 cups Plain Flour

4 tsp Baking Powder

2 tsp Bicarbonate of Soda

4 tsp Cinnamon

1 tsp Nutmeg

1 tsp Ginger

1/2 tsp Ground Cloves

1 tsp Salt

2 cans Pumpkin Puree

1 1/2 cups Buttermilk

2 tsp Vanilla Extract

6 Eggs

For The Buttercream:

250g Unsalted Butter

480g Icing Sugar

4 tbsp Milk

1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon

2-3 tbsp Honey

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350°F/170°C and grease your bundt tins and lightly coat with a dusting of plain flour.

2. Using a freestanding mixer beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

3. In a large bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and salt.

4. In another large bowl mix together the pumpkin puree, buttermilk and vanilla essence.

5. Add the eggs to the butter and sugar mixture and beat for a minute until fully combined.

6. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add a quarter of the flour mixture until combined, followed by a third of the pumpkin mixture and so on alternating until it is all combined. You should be left with a fairly thick batter, be sure not to overheat.

7. Split the mixture between your two bundt tins (if you only have one in fill it with half the mixure and leave the rest to stand in the bowl, giving it a good stir before you fill the tin for the second layer) and bake in the oven for 55 mins-1 hour until a skewer comes out clean.

8. Whilst the cakes are cooling make the buttercream, start by whisking the butter for a few minutes until pale and creamy.

9. Add half the icing mixture and whisk until fully combined.

10. Add the milk and whisk, followed by the rest of the icing sugar, mix well until you have a light and creamy buttercream.

11. Add the cinnamon and mix, then add the honey according to how sweet you'd like your buttercream to be.

12. Once the cakes are fully cooled, place the bottom layer on your cake stand or board and spread the top with a generous amount of buttercream. Place the second layer on top and cover with the rest of the buttercream.

13. Fill the hole in the centre with sweets of your choice, I opted for some halloween themed sweets.

14. Once the buttercream has set slightly cover the cake with the orange fondant.

15. Roll some green fondant into a ball until smooth and shape into a stem, brush the bottom with a little water and place on top.

16. Roll out some black fondant and cut out the shapes for your pumpkin face, leave to dry slightly, then brush with a little water and place them on the front of the pumpkin.

I'd love to see if you give this cake a try or what your favourite Halloween treats are, so be sure to tag me on Instagram here or Twitter here.

11 comments

, by Sadie

baking

Greek Baklava

I have always loved Baklava and my trip to Santorini earlier in the year reignited my love for it. It's not really a dessert that's readily available in the UK, it's something I've only found in Waitrose, specialist shops and Greek restaurants, so I decided I'd try making it myself. This recipe is super easy and great if you have to cater for a number of people. It is also a great dessert if you need to make one in advance as the longer you leave it to soak up the syrup, the stickier and better it tastes.

Ingredients

(makes approx. 24 squares)

400g Nuts, chopped (you can use any kind but I used a mixture of walnuts and almonds)

3 tbsp Sugar

1 tsp Cinnamon

150g Butter, melted

18 Sheets of Filo Pastry

For the syrup:

400ml Water

400g Sugar

2 Cinnamon Sticks

1 tbsp Lemon Juice

5 tbsp Honey

Method

1. Grease a 35x25cm baking tray (try and use one that is about the same size as your pastry so they fit nicely and you don't have to trim them down) and pre-heat oven to 180°c.

2. Mix the nuts, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.

3. Take a sheet of filo pastry and lay it in the bottom of the tray, brush with the melted butter and repeat until you have 5 layers.

4. Sprinkle half the nut mixture over the pastry and place 3 more sheets of pastry over the top, brushing each layer with the melted butter.

5. Sprinkle the the other half of the nut mixture on top and layer the rest of the filo sheets on top, brushing with melted butter in between each layer.

6. Once you have brushed the last layer with butter use a sharp knife to cut squares into the top few layers of pastry (this will make them easier to cut once they are baked) and sprinkle a little water over the top with your fingers to stop the pastry from curling.

7. Bake in the oven for 30-45 minutes until it is golden and crisp.

8. Whilst the baklava is baking heat the water, sugar, cinnamon sticks and lemon juice in a small pan and boil for 5 minutes. Add the honey and simmer for 5 more minutes until the syrup has thickened slightly. Remove cinnamon sticks.

9. When it is ready remove the baklava from the oven and whilst it is still hot pour the syrup over the top and the slice through the squares to the bottom of the tray.

10. Leave to cool completely in the tray and soak up the syrup.