This is a recipe which is highly inspired by the typical pumpkin spiced muffins i tried at various cafes here in Montreal. This is DSB’s take where i added a little tanginess to the sugar and spice of this sinful cake.

I just experienced my first fall here in Canada. It is amazing to see how “fall” really has a meaning here. The maple tree leaves around have started to turn beautiful orange-red and with the change in the time zone a few days back, we have our sun setting at as early as 4:30 pm. I was just basking in the sunny afternoons of the lovely Montreal and the winters are already knocking on our doorsteps !!

This was also my first season with the Halloween and all that orange pumpkin craziness. Pumpkin is considered an ordinary vegetable in India and is usually used to make dry-semi gravy dishes or sometimes desserts. Here, one of the first things that surprised me was the pumpkin spice latte (pumpkin flavoured spiced coffee). I tried one at Starbucks and oh man ! it was delicious. I could never imagine pumpkin flavoured drink could be so tasty. Then there were the pumpkin muffins, pies, soups, stews and so many other possible varieties. Off course there were the “jack-o-lanterns” like this one that i spotted outside a house during one of my evening strolls.

Well the story behind the creation of this recipe starts from the day of Halloween when i suddenly realized that the stores currently adorning pumpkin treats as “special edition” will get over from day after and that i will not have access to eye feasting recipes flocked up over various food blogs, i went ahead and grabbed a big can of pumpkin puree. What followed next were series of trials, recipes for which would be seen here in the days to come !

Pumpkin choco spice cake

Pumpkin choco spice cake Recipe Makes : 1 cake of 2 inch depth and 9” dia 1 1/2 cup pumpkin puree (about 400 gms)

1/2 cup pure coconut oil /oil/ butter

400 gms of brown sugar

1/2 cup coconut milk

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups of All purpose flour (maida)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp soda-bi-carb

1/2 cup semi dark chocolate chips

1/2 cup raisins

1/4 cup candied ginger – finely chopped

1/2 tsp dry ginger powder

1- 2 tsp All spice, as per choice (to make your own all spice, mix equal quantities of cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves and grind to a fine powder)

1 tsp orange zest (optional)

1/4 cup rolled oats for garnishing Method Pre-heat the oven and set at 375 degrees F. Take a 9″ dia spring form pan and grease with a little butter on the sides. Place a parchment paper sheet on the bottom of the pan and keep ready. In a mixing bowl, take the pumpkin puree, coconut oil, sugar, coconut milk and vanilla and mix well till the sugar dissolves and creates a homogenous mixture. Keep aside. You may like to use the double boiler method here to keep the coconut oil from freezing. Now, in a separate bowl, sift all the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda and soda-bi-carb, dry ginger powder and All spice) through a sieve and combine. To this, add in the raisins, candied ginger, chocolate chips and orange zest. Combine. Now add in the pumpkin mixture in the flour mixture and fold in till a homogenous batter is achieved. Pour the cake batter in the spring form pan and tap the pan on a table surface to remove any air pockets/bubbles from the batter. Sprinkle some rolled oats on the top (optional) and pop the pan in the middle rack of the oven for even baking. Bake for about 30-40 minutes. Insert a pin to check if the cake is done and remove from the oven upon baking. Let the cake cool for about 5 minutes before removing the cake from the pan. Arrange on a cooling rack and let it cool down completely. Pumpkin choco spice cake is ready.

This is a really moist and beautifully flavoured cake. I was thinking of doing a cream cheese frosting on top of it but then the cake itself was so wonderfully delicious and the perfect brown colour looked so festive that i decided against it.

The combination of pumpkin puree, ginger, raisins and chocolate worked well but the real surprise winner here were the bits of candied ginger and orange zest which added a unique (and very interesting) tanginess to this cake.

This is a real great tasting cake and with the right amount of sweetness, it does not really need any additional glaces or frostings. I think i have found myself a recipe for Halloween now 🙂

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