I started making this spiced pumpkin traybake last year and was amazed at how positive the reaction to it was. It’s very similar to a carrot cake but with a smooth texture – a damp spiced sponge that keeps for ages in the same way that a banana loaf does.
For the charity Halloween bake sale I held last Sunday, I wanted to make a cake that would go down well with the adults alongside the novelty cakes made specifically to appeal to children, like my own. This is a perfect Autumn bake topped with a delicate slick of vanilla buttercream. I’ve had lots of positive feedback about it so I’ll be making it again for next year’s sale with the aim of beating this year’s £280 profit.
I have made spiced pumpkin cupcakes with great success before, but not an actual traybake. After making bakes for school fairs, kids parties and sports fixtures I soon realised that a slab of something sweet involves much less effort than any individually baked efforts.
The one thing you’ll notice about this recipe is that I don’t actually use pumpkin in it. Instead, I have opted for butternut squash. I prefer it’s sweet and nutty flavour and also I find it less watery, which improves the texture of the sponge. If I lived nearer to a good grow your own farm/green grocers then I would be sure to use pumpkin but I find the supermarket varieties lacking in flavour.
I also made a version of this cake for last month’s supper club (minus the icing) and served it with a toffee sauce, home-made stem ginger ice cream, pecan crumb and candied squash. It was a smash – definitely got the best comments of the evening and makes a welcome alternative to a sticky toffee sponge.
Here are some more ideas for perfect pumpkin bakes from fellow bloggers:
Pumpkin swirls with a maple tahini drizzle – Rough Measures
Chewy pumpkin cookies – Supper in the Suburbs
Bacon pumpkin bread – Recipes from a Pantry
Chocolate pecan pumpkin cake – Tin & Thyme
Spiced Pumpkin Traybake
Ingredients
- 225 g self raising flour
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- pinch of salt
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp mixed spice
- 1 inch piece of ginger peeled & grated
- 400 g butternut squash steamed & blitzed to a smooth puree
- 3 eggs
- 250 ml mild flavoured oil
- 275 g light brown sugar
- 1 tbsp honey/maple syrup
- For the icing:
- 125 g unsalted butter softened
- 250 g icing sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 tbsp milk
Instructions
-
Pre-heat the oven to 160 degrees
-
Whisk the oil with the sugar, honey and eggs in a food mixer until well blended
-
Sift in the flour, bicarb, salt and spices then beat the mixture in the food mixer until it forms a loose batter
-
Fold in the butternut squash using a spatula
-
Pour the mixture into a lined square baking tin/brownie tin and bake for between 45 minutes-55 minutes depending on your oven
-
Let the cake cool completely before icing
-
For the icing:
-
Place the butter, icing sugar, vanilla and milk in a food mixer and beat well for at least 3 minutes until the icing becomes pale and creamy in colour
-
Spread the icing over the cake
-
Chill in the fridge until the icing is set
Recipe Notes
This cake keeps well in the fridge, covered with cling film or in a plastic box for up to one week. It also freezes well.
Well done on your bake sale Laura and raising so much money. It all looks so good. Your cakes sound lovely. I think squash works really well in cakes. Pumpkins grown for lanterns aren’t really very tasty and the texture is pretty yuck! But there are loads of pumpkins and winter squashes that taste so much better than butternut.
Agree with you, I love acorn squashes – when we managed to grow them ourselves they tasted so good
I know what you mean about pumpkins, I barely got anything out of ours this year as the flesh was rock hard and more suitable for carving than eating.. Your tray bake looks incredibly delicious. Well done on your fantastic bake sale too!
Thanks Camilla, really happy with what we raised
Utterly delicious! I am totally addicted to pumpkin at this time of year and your traybake looks SO glorious!
Definitley the best part of autumn is the pumpkin season
I’ve made a similar pumpkin cake a few times – it keeps it so moist, doesn’t it! Your cute pumpkin decoration is much more exciting than my plain cake though!
It’s a good recipe to know!
Oooh what a lovely seasonal tray bake Laura… I adore cakes like this! I love the little mini pumpkins on the top too – so cute!
Thanks Katie, the pumpkins were all the kids not me!
I really need to get my head to think of doing tray bakes when I fancy some cake. I never think of them and they always look so lovely. I love the flavours in this one, I don’t use pumpkin enough either!
Traybakes are the way forward as you can freeze some in portions for other times 🙂