Tasty Pumpkin Recipes

It wouldn’t be October without the traditional pumpkin carving session with the kids, but did you know pumpkins are packed full of potassium, vitamin C, and are high in fiber? So it’s a shame to waste all that goodness! Scoop out and save your seeds for a healthy snack, or grate the flesh into a yummy traybake for the perfect tea break treat. Here are our two pumpkin recipes to get you started.

Pumpkin Cake

It’s a known fact that everything tastes better in cake form, and pumpkin is no exception. A Halloween take on carrot cake, this traybake is moist and packed full of pumpkin, orange, and raisins.

Pumpkin Cake

For the cake:

• 300g self-raising flour
• 300g light muscovado sugar
• 3 tsp mixed spice
• 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 175g sultanas or raisins
• ½ tsp salt
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 150g butter, melted
• Zest of 2 oranges,
• Juice of 1 orange,
• 500g of peeled pumpkin flesh, grated (squeeze excess moisture out using a clean tea towel or muslin)

For the icing:

• 200g cream cheese
• 100g icing sugar
• zest of 1 orange
• 1 teaspoon of orange juice

For the decoration:

• Zest of 1 orange

Method:

1. To start, heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4. Butter and line a large 30 cm x 20 cm baking tray.
2. Put the flour, sugar, spice, bicarbonate of soda, sultanas/raisins, and salt into a large bowl and stir to combine.
3. Beat the eggs into the melted butter, stir in the orange zest (1 orange worth) and 1/2 of the orange juice, then mix with the dry ingredients till combined.
4. Stir in drained and squeezed the pumpkin. Pour the batter into the tin and bake for 40 mins, or until golden and springy to the touch.
5. To make the frosting, beat together the cheese, icing sugar, orange zest and 1 tsp of the juice till smooth and creamy, then set aside in the fridge.
6. When the cake is cooked, allow to cool for 5 mins in the tray, then turn it onto a cooling rack. Prick it all over with a skewer and drizzle with the rest of the orange juice while still warm. Leave to cool completely.
7. Beat the frosting to loosen, then spread using a pallet knife over the top of the cake. Decorate with the zest of 1 orange after iced.
8. If you’re making the cake ahead, keep it in the fridge then take out as many pieces as you want 30 mins or so before serving. The cake will keep, covered, for up to 3 days in the fridge.

Sweet Pumpkin Seeds

Small, but mighty, pumpkin seeds are full of antioxidants, protein, and iron (to name just a few of their good points!) so they are ideal for Halloween leftovers. To create your seed snacks start by separating the seeds from the pulp, then rinse in a colander under cold water, next leave to dry overnight. Spread on a baking tray and cover with a little oil and salt before popping in the oven for an easy treat that’s great added to salads and soups or get creative and try the recipe below for a sweet fix.

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 200g pumpkin seeds
• 2 tablespoons caster sugar

Method

1. Preheat oven to 150 C / Gas 2.
2. Mix butter, cinnamon and salt together in a bowl.
3. Place pumpkin seeds in a large bowl and pour butter mixture over the seeds and toss together to evenly coat. Spread the coated seeds in a single layer onto a baking tray.
4. Bake in the preheated oven, stirring occasionally, until seeds are lightly browned, about 40 minutes.
5. Once cooked remove the baking tray from the oven and sprinkle sugar over seeds until evenly coated.

Got a pumpkin recipe you want to share? Remember to use #SeasaltArtsClub across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

These recipes have been adapted from BBC Good Food and All Recipes own websites.