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