Festive Spiced Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

  • 250g cooked pumpkin

  • 8 pitted medjool dates

  • 60ml hot water

  • ¼ cup cacao

  • ½ tbsp baking powder

  • 2 tsp cinnamon

  • 2 tsp ginger

  • 1 ½ tsp cardamom

  • 2 cup wholemeal SR flour

  • 1 orange, zest only

  • 40g blanched almonds, chopped if going in the cake, or leave whole to decorate top

  • 100g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids or higher), roughly chopped

  • 150g butter

  • 3 eggs

For Drizzle:

  • 150g full fat ricotta

  • 2 oranges, juice only

Make:

Preheat the oven to 160°C/180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4. Line a 20-22cm cake tin.

  1. If your pumpkin is raw - roughly chop and steam it.

  2. Roughly chop the dates and soak in the hot water in a tall jug or bowl with high sides. Set aside.

  3. Sift cacao, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger and cardamom into a large bowl with the flour, orange zest, almonds and chocolate and mix. Set aside.

  4. Melt the butter and pour over the dates and hot water, add the pumpkin and eggs and blend to combine using a stick blender.

  5. Add wet ingredients to the dry and fold through until just combined (it may look a little clumpy).

  6. Tip cake batter into pre-lined tin and bake for 15 minutes. Rotate in the oven and bake for a further 10-15 minutes until an inserted skewer comes out clean.

  7. While baking, make the ricotta drizzle - combine ricotta with orange juice, mix until smooth.

  8. Let the cake cool completely before topping generously with the ricotta.

  9. Garnish with dried orange slices if you wish, and serve between ten.

(recipe from bodyandsoul.com)

jyl kutsche