Pumpkin and Orange Breakfast Cake

There’s a lot more orange-fleshed squash than pumpkin out there. This page lists a bunch of them. With hunks of leftover butternut and Kabocha squash in the fridge, I made this breakfast cake to rave reviews.

The recipe comes from my favourite baking book, In The Sweet Kitchen. Instead of buying boring pumpkin purée, it’s easy to roast a halved, seeded squash the next time you have a hot oven running. In about a half an hour, you’ll be able to scoop out the soft insides, and mash them into a nice, homemade purée.

Do not skimp on the orange zest, if you love citrus flavours. Do measure it, as two full tablespoons is a lot more than you think. This cake is pretty standard, in terms of creaming the butter and sugar, folding in the puree and dry ingredients, and finally, whipped egg whites. I baked for the full 60 minutes.

This cake was delicious the morning after I made it, and still delicious on the 2nd, 3rd, and subsequent mornings! It has a strong orange taste, without a strong squash flavour. Its texture is surprisingly light for a cake made with squash. I think the combination of a generous amount of baking powder plus whipped whites helps achieve this delicate balance.

I don’t usually make a syrup, but decided that a fresh orange one would be delicious, and was not wrong. The cake doesn’t need it, but use it sparingly as it tends to make the cake soggy (I served it in a squeeze bottle). Another winner from Regan Daley, but I’ve come to expect that with every recipe from this book.