The Australian Womens Weekly Food — Issue 27 2017

Mum’s The Word Entertaining

COOK’S

NOTES

GINGERBREAD CAKE

You need to cook 1kg

pumpkin for the amount

of mashed pumpkin

needed here.

You can decorate this

cake with Chinese

candied ginger strips,

which are available

from Asian grocers.

The cake and syrup can

be made a day ahead;

store them separately at

room temperature.

To level the cake, using

a large finely serrated

knife, hold the knife

flatatthelevelyou

want to trim the cake.

Keeping the knife flat,

cut through the cake

as evenly as possible.

Discard trimmings.

GINGERBREAD CAKE

PREP + COOK TIME 2 HOURS 15 MINUTES

(+ STANDING) SERVES 12

185g butter, softened

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

5cm piece fresh ginger (25g),

finely grated

1¼ cups (275g) firmly packed

brown sugar

3eggs

3 cups (450g) self−raising flour

3 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground cloves

¼ teaspoon cooking salt

¾ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda

1 cup (250ml) buttermilk

1½ cups (350g) mashed butternut

pumpkin (see cook’s notes)

2 tablespoons thinly sliced

crystallised ginger

2 tablespoons coarsely chopped

roasted pecans

CARAMEL SAUCE

60g butter, chopped

½cup (110g) firmly packed

brown sugar

2 tablespoons water

2 tablespoons dark rum

1 Preheat oven to 180°C/160°C fan.

Grease a deep 22cm bundt pan.

2 Beat butter, extract, grated ginger

and sugar in a large bowl with an

electric mixer until pale and fluffy.

Beat in eggs, one at a time, until just

combined. Fold in combined sifted

flour, ground spices, salt and

bicarbonate of soda with buttermilk,

in two batches, until combined.

Stir in pumpkin. Spread mixture into

pan; batter should nearly fill the pan.

3 Bake cake on lowest oven shelf

for 50 minutes or until a skewer

inserted into the centre comes

out clean. Stand cake in pan for

15 minutes before turning out

onto a wire rack to cool. Level the

base of the cake, if necessary.

4 Make caramel sauce.

5 Place cake on a cake stand or

plate; drizzle with sauce. Decorate

with crystallised ginger and pecans.

Serve warm or cold.

CARAMEL SAUCE

Stir butter, sugar and the water in a

small saucepan over low heat, without

boiling, until butter melts and sugar

dissolves. Bring to the boil; boil for

3 minutes or until sauce thickens.

Remove from heat; stir in rum. Stand

sauce for 5 minutes to thicken.

AWW FOOD • ISSUE TWENTY SEVEN 59