Squash and Walnut Syrup Cake
Roasted squash keeps this lightly spiced walnut sponge tender, while a sharp orange syrup soaks into the warm cake.
Ingredients
Serves 8- 300gbutternut squash, peeled and deseeded weight, cut into 2cm chunks
- 100mlmild olive oil
- 75gwalnuts, roughly chopped
- 175gplain flour
- 1 tspbaking powder
- 1 tspground cinnamon
- fine salt
- 2eggs
- 125glight brown soft sugar
- 70mlorange juice
- 4gfinely grated orange zest
- 70gcaster sugar
- 30mlwater
Method
- Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan. Line a baking tray and a 20cm round cake tin with baking parchment.
- Toss the squash with 15ml of the olive oil and a small pinch of salt. Roast for 30 minutes until completely tender and catching at the edges, then mash to a smooth purée and leave for 15 minutes until no longer steaming.
- Turn the oven down to 180°C/160°C fan. Whisk the eggs, brown sugar, remaining 85ml olive oil and all the orange zest for 1 minute until glossy.
- Stir the cooled squash purée into the egg mixture. Fold in the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, a pinch of salt and two-thirds of the walnuts just until no dry flour remains.
- Scrape the batter into the lined tin and scatter over the remaining walnuts. Bake for 35 minutes until deeply golden and a skewer pushed into the centre comes out clean.
- While the cake bakes, put the reserved orange juice, caster sugar and water into a small pan. Simmer for 5 minutes until the sugar has dissolved and the syrup looks clear and lightly thickened.
- As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, poke it all over with a skewer and slowly spoon over the warm orange syrup. Leave in the tin for 20 minutes until the syrup has soaked in.
- Lift the cake from the tin and cool for a further 40 minutes until warm rather than hot, so the crumb has time to settle before slicing.
Per serving
- kcal
- 380
- protein
- 6g
- fibre
- 2.2g
- carbs
- 47.7g
- fat
- 19.3g
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