Honey Spiced Pumpkin Cake

Well, Autumn is certainly upon us… we’re down to six degrees overnight and it’s been even cooler inland! We’ve been enjoying waking up the sound of rain on the roof this past week, even though it means less beach time and sunshine – it’s what the country needs to reset for the coming productive seasons. 

As farmers are turning their attention to seeding, we’re focusing on maintenance right now. We’ve been building new boxes and frames, keeping the bees warm and safe with enough tucker and making the occasional outside foray when the wind isn’t blowing straight from the south pole. 

Even though it means there’s less honey coming in, we love this time of year – there’s nothing better than rugging up and enjoying some down-time by the fire after a hectic summer moving bees around and navigating bushfires. And what could be better to sit and chill out with than a heart-warming honey-spiced pumpkin cake and a cup of tea? 

This recipe has been adapted from Paleo Running Momma but we’ve made a few tweaks – added honey, subbed in lupin flour and dampened the sweetness a little so that the pumpkin and spice flavour can really shine through. There’s also a bit of coffee in our version, which contrasts really nicely with the flavour of the pumpkin.

Silver Top Gimlet and some busy bees…

The pumpkin keeps it quite moist so it should keep well for up to 5 days in a sealed container. Make the topping first then put it aside in the fridge while you make the cake batter. We used roasted butternut pumpkin as it’s got so much natural sweetness and the edges get a little bit caramelised in the oven, which of course comes through in the cake. The Silver Top Gimlet honey that we’re pouring at the moment is definitely the perfect honey for this – it’s wonderfully rich and blends in seamlessly with the spices, though any raw, natural honey will make it sing. And because this cake uses almond and lupin flour, it’s suitable for people with an allergy or intolerance to gluten. 

HONEY SPICED PUMPKIN CAKE

Topping ingredients

2/3 cup almond meal

3 1/2 tbsp raw, unprocessed honey

2/3 cup chopped pecans

4 tbsp butter, softened

½ tsp salt

½ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp cardamom 

1/8 tsp ginger

1/8 tsp allspice

1/8 tsp cloves

Wet cake ingredients

1 cup pureed pumpkin

3 large eggs

2 tbsp raw, unprocessed honey

1/3 cup sugar

2 tbsp melted butter

1 tsp vanilla

2 tsp instant coffee/double shot of espresso

Dry cake ingredients

1 ¼ cups lupin flour

1 cup almond meal

¾ tsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

2 ½ tsp cinnamon

½ tsp nutmeg

¼ tsp cardamom

¼ tsp ginger

¼ tsp allspice

¼ tsp cloves

Method

1.     Preheat your oven to 170C (fan forced) and line an 8” square cake tin with baking paper. 

2.    Mix your topping ingredients in a small bowl using a fork – you don’t want to melt the butter for this, just use it soft, as it will make the mixture more difficult to work with later. Once evenly mixed, put into the fridge until just before the cake goes into the oven. 

3.    Put the eggs, pumpkin, honey, vanilla and sugar into a bowl and mix together. Once combined, add the melted butter and coffee. Mix well. 

4.    In a separate bowl, combine all of your dry ingredients, making sure that there are no lumps then add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir to combine. 

5.    Spread the batter into the lined cake tin. Sprinkle with chunks of the topping to form a nice, even crust and bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes. When the crust is golden brown and a skewer inserted near the center comes out clean, your cake is ready.

6.     Remove from the oven and cool for half an hour in the tin before removing the baking paper and placing on a cooling rack for another half hour. 

Serve it up with a dollop of whipped cream and your choice of steaming beverage! 

And don’t forget to tag us @esperancehoney and hashtag us #esperancehoneykitchen if you re-create this recipe and post to your social media accounts. 

Stay safe and warm, 

Kev and the Esperance Honey team