Butternut Squash Cake

What do you do with your left over squashes after each Halloween? Leaving them out there for the squirrels to nibble at their leisure I guess, if they have been sitting there for too long!? Or perhaps, if the squashes are not too old, you would make a good use of them by turning them into puree, freezing them and using them in cakes, desserts and soups in the cold months ahead. Well, the latter is what I did this year.

Making squash puree is so easy I wonder why anyone should buy store cans! And of course, depending on the type of squash you use they make different tasting puree – from light yellow to dark orange in color. Below I will give a super easy way to make butternut puree – my favorite type of squash.

But before getting there, I want to share a delicious butternut squash cake which has gone through some modifications and innovations of my own!  If measured properly and followed precisely, the cake if absolutely Per.Fect! Light texture, blending tastes, not too dry nor too dense. Here we go!

Ingredients:

• 1 + ½ Self-rising Flour
• ¾ cup, Brown Sugar
• ½  cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup Butternut squash Puree (see easy recipe below)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
• A pinch of nutmeg powder
• 1 tablespoon sunflower seed
• You also need a small cake thin: 19 cm x 4 cm (H)

Method:

Comme d’habitude, preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.  Greece and line the cake tin.

Using a mixer, whisk together the vegetable oil & sugar for about 1-2 minutes till the sugar is melted.

Add eggs one by one and whisk them together with low-medium speed till you have smooth cream. Add vanilla and mix well.

In a separate (larger) bowl sift the dry ingredients: flour, cinnamon powder and nutmeg powder.

Mix lemon juice in the squash puree and make sure it is soft and homogenous.

Add the egg/sugar mix into this the flour bowl and continue whisking on low speed.

Add in the puree and gently fold until you get a well- mixed batter.

Pour the batter into the tin cake, and sprinkle with sunflower. Tap the thin cake  on the counter a few times.

Bake in the oven for 45-50 minutes until golden-brown and cooked through.

Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before transferring it on a rack  and letting it cool completely.

Butternut Squash Puree

Halve the squash lengthwise and remove seeds. Place them cut side down on a baking sheet and roast for 40-50 minutes in 350 F degree oven. When it is fork tender, remove from the oven and scoop out all the innards; pile in a bowl and with the back of a fork smooth it out.  Make plenty of this and keep in the freezer. They are wonderful not only for cakes and pastries but for a variety of soups.