Pumpkin and olive oil loaf cake by Anna Warden

This delicious recipe comes from Anna Warden of the amazing Ursa Minor Bakehouse, one of our absolute go-tos for seasonal cooking and baking.

The recipe makes for a deliciously light, moist cake that simply gets better each day after baking. Lightly spiced, and not too sweet - it is the perfect addition to a cup of tea in the darker winter afternoons. I have suggested using a mix of wholemeal and plain flours as it adds to the flavour and texture of the cake, but you can use all plain if that is all you have to hand.

Ingredients 

For the loaf
400g pumpkin, peeled and cut into small chunks (to make 225g puree)
255ml of Honest Toil extra virgin olive oil 
3 eggs
150g granulated sugar
115g panela or soft brown sugar
100g plain flour (I used a sifted wholemeal flour grown and milled by Manna Mill, Monaghan)
80g wholemeal flour (I used a purple wheat grown and milled by Manna Mill, Monaghan)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp fine salt
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp allspice
100g roughly chopped toasted pecans/walnuts/pumpkin seeds (optional)

For the icing
150g icing sugar, sifted
2 tbsp warm water
pinch salt
3 tbsp Honest Toil extra virgin olive oil
toasted pumpkin seeds/ cacao nibs to decorate

Method
Preheat your oven to 180°C.
Begin by making the pumpkin puree. Lightly coat the chunks of pumpkin with olive oil, place on a tray and roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes until the pumpkin is soft, but hasn’t yet gained any colour.

Place the cooked pumpkin in a bowl and use a stick blender to blitz to a smooth puree. You could also do this in a food processor.

Turn your oven down to 160°C. Line a 2lb/900g loaf tin with baking parchment.
In a large bowl whisk together 225g pumpkin puree, olive oil, eggs and sugars until well emulsified.

In a separate bowl mix together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, spices and toasted nuts/seeds if using. Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients and add the bowl of wet ingredients. Mix with a whisk until just combined (stir in one direction to avoid lumps).

Bake in the preheated oven for 70-80 minutes until a knife comes out clean when inserted into the centre of the loaf.

Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then remove and leave to cool completely on a wire rack. 

To make the icing whisk together the icing sugar, salt and 2 tbsp of warm water. Add a touch more water if needed (you want it to emulate the consistency of peanut butter, not too thin). Whilst still whisking, slowly add the olive oil until completely combined.

Spread over the loaf cake, and sprinkle with pumpkin seeds/cacao nibs.

This cake keeps really well for 3-4 days if stored in an airtight container.