Beetroot and Pumpkin Pudding Cake

As the season of the ghostly, the ghastly and the ghoulish approaches I thought it appropriate to come up with a mildly macabre recipe using our old halloweeny friend, the pumpkin. I've paired it with beetroot, which gives the finished mixture a rather grisly appearance and flavoured with just a touch of warm cinnamon and nutmeg, although feel free to try out your own spicing. The texture of this one is very unusual, some might even say otherworldly (not me I'd just say unusual) and is almost closer to a pudding than cake. However topped with sweet vanilla buttercream it is definitely more of a treat than a trick!

Prep time: 25 Mins
Baking time: 60-65 Mins
175ml Golden Syrup
100g Light Brown Sugar
100g Unsalted Butter
225g Plain Flour
1tsp Baking Powder
2tsp Ground Cinnamon
1/2tsp Ground Nutmeg
2 Large Eggs (Beaten)
200ml Milk
250g Pumpkin (Grated)
250g Cooked Beetroot (Finely chopped)

For the buttercream
150g Unsalted Butter (Softened)
300g Icing Sugar (Sifted)
1tsp Vanilla Extract

Mwahahahahaha! Ahem, sorry. Add the syrup, sugar and butter to a saucepan and heat gently, stirring until melted together. Set to one side to cool slightly whilst you prepare the rest of the ingredients.

Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4, grease a 20cm deep baking tin and line with baking paper. In a large mixing bowl mix together the flour, baking powder and spices, then make a well in the middle. Pour in the syrup and mix until no flour remains, then add the eggs and milk and whisk by hand until evenly combined. Fold through the pumpkin and beetroot, then pour into your prepared tin. Bake in the centre of the oven for around 60-65 minutes, until the cake has risen and a metal skewer comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the cake. When you are happy the cake is baked remove from the oven, leave to cool in the tin for around 30 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Once the cake is cool you can go ahead and prepare the icing. In a bowl cream together the butter, sugar and vanilla extract, spread liberally over the cake and you are finished. Right, where were we? Oh yes... Mwahahahahahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!