Pumpkin cake

In Kerala, pumpkin or mathanga is commonly made into erissery which also finds its way into the traditional sadya. Since my daughter does not eat this, pumpkin cake is an approach to peak her interest in this lovely yellow-orange vegetable. The pumpkin puree can be prepared by steaming pieces of chopped pumpkin (sans skin, seeds and inner fibrous part) until tender and soft. Once it has cooled down, grind it coarsely. The cake might have a few small pieces of pumpkin here and there, but that's okay. Delve in, to know the rest of the process to achieve this super soft, unique cake.

The background sketch by my daughter is of the Eurasian Hobby, a falcon. Our neighbor doctor, an avid birder had presented my daughter with a colored sketch of the bird. Here she is attempting to replicate the same.

 

The ingredients of this fab cake..

Pumpkin puree - 3/4 cup
All purpose flour - 1 and 1/2 cup
Baking powder - 1 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp
Cinnamon powder - 1 tsp
Dry ginger powder - 1/2 tsp
Butter - 1/2 cup
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Eggs, free range - 2
Vanilla essence - 1 tsp
Milk - 1/4 cup

The process..

Sieve flour three times. This helps to promotes a lightness to the cake. Also, doing this at a slightly higher height to the kitchen top helps in the same.

Whisk butter and sugar to a nice creaminess. Break eggs into it and give it again a nice whisk. 

Add salt, baking powder, ginger and cinnamon into the flour. Mix. In batches, add the flour mix into the wet bowl. Combine with a spatula, moving it first clockwise and then cutting through the middle. Add vanilla, pumpkin puree and milk too in between. Do not over mix; just enough so that everything is well integrated and the batter is slightly loose.

Prepare a cake pan by buttering its insides. Add a bit of flour and spread by tapping the pan on its sides. Pour batter into the pan and smooth the top with a spatula. Or even better would be to lift the pan just above the worktop and drop it gently. Do this a few times. This way all air bubbles will disappear and the cake batter will spread evenly.

Preheat oven to 180C. Bake for 60 to 65 minutes. When 30 minutes are up and the top of the cake is beginning to brown, tent it lightly with an aluminium foil. The cake bakes faster if placed on the top rack. When a skewer or toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes clean, its time to take out the cake.

Allow it to cool. Take out from pan and cut a slice gently. Delight in the piece of heaven.