Spiced Festive Cake Full of Traditional Flavour

This lower carb spiced festive cake uses wholemeal flour and pumpkin to carry the spices we often associate with the festive season. A little chocolate and orange makes it a warming, indulgent treat at the end of a festive meal.

A great recipe for sharing, this spiced festive cake will be the talk of the party – your guests won’t believe it’s high in fibre and low in sugar!

Serves: 12

Calories per serving: 277

Prep time: 20 minutes (longer if you need to cook the pumpkin)

Cook time: 30 minutes

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Ingredients:

• 2 cup wholemeal SR flour
• ¼ cup cacao
• ½ tbsp baking powder
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp ginger
• 1 ½ tsp cardamom
• ½ orange zest
• 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
• 8 medjool dates
• 60ml hot water
• 250g cooked pumpkin
• 3 eggs

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to fan forced 160°C/180°C/350°F/Gas mark 4. Line a small (approx 20cm) cake tin.
2. If your pumpkin is raw – roughly chop and steam it.
3. Remove the pits from the dates, roughly chop and soak in hot water in a tall jug or bowl with high sides.
4. Sift dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix (flour, cacao, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, orange zest, almonds and chocolate).
5. Melt the butter and pour over the dates and hot water, using a stick blender – blitz into a loose paste. Add the pumpkin and eggs and blitz to combine.
6. Add wet ingredients to the dry and fold through until just combined (it may look a little stodgy).
7. 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.
8. Let it cool for 10-20 minutes before serving between twelve.

Tips:

• To make it extra pretty – leave the nuts out of the mix and decorate the top of your cake before baking – grate extra orange zest and place the nuts around the edge of the tin.
• Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. Serve cold or reheated.
• Freeze for up to 2 months. Defrost before serving.
• Batch cook and freeze in portions.