This is the pumpkin cake I make when I want something soft, simple and reliably good, especially when there is cooked pumpkin waiting to be used up.

Quick info

  • Servings: 6
  • Prep: 15 minutes
  • Baking: 45 minutes
  • Tools: 20–22 cm (7.9–8.7 in) cake tin, electric whisks, bowls, spatula, baking paper, static oven, air fryer
  • Heads-up: the pumpkin needs to be really dry (if it stays wet, the cake will turn out flat and underdone in the middle)

Ingredients

  • 300g (10.6 oz) pumpkin, already peeled and deseeded
  • 3 eggs
  • 150g (5.3 oz) caster sugar
  • 50ml (1.7 fl oz) sunflower oil
  • 50ml (1.7 fl oz) milk (or carton coconut milk, or soy milk)
  • 270g (9.5 oz) plain flour
  • 1 sachet of baking powder
  • Icing sugar to finish
  • (optional) 2–3 tablespoons of chocolate chips tossed in flour

Method

  1. Cook the pumpkin. Cut the pumpkin into cubes. Oven: bake at 200°C (392°F) for 20 min until dry. Air fryer: 180°C (356°F) for 12–15 min, stirring halfway through. Blend until smooth.
  2. Whip the eggs and sugar. In a bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar until pale and fluffy.
  3. Add the wet ingredients. Pour in the sunflower oil and the milk. Keep mixing to combine.
  4. Stir in the pumpkin. Add all the purée and mix until smooth.
  5. Add the dry ingredients. Gradually add the sifted flour, folding with a spatula. Add the baking powder (and the chocolate chips, if using) and mix as little as possible.
  6. Bake. Pour the batter into the buttered and floured 20–22 cm (7.9–8.7 in) tin. Bake in a static oven at 170°C (338°F) for about 45 minutes. Check with a toothpick.
  7. Cool and serve. Let it cool completely and dust with icing sugar.