Squash and ginger cake with buttermilk drizzle
One of Paul’s famous cakes: squidgy and delicious
Ingredients
- 200g unsalted butter, softened, plus extra for greasing
- 225g white spelt or plain flour, plus extra for dusting
- 300g peeled, diced coquina or butternut squash
- 2 tsp grated root ginger
- 50g golden syrup
- 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- ½ tsp fine sea salt
- 50g ground almonds
- 250g dark brown muscovado sugar
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 175ml buttermilk
- 150g golden icing sugar
- 1-2 tbsp lemon juice
- 50g crystallised ginger, chopped
Method
- Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C, gas mark 3. Generously grease a 2.4 litre, 26cm x 9.5cm bundt tin and dust with flour, tapping out the excess.
- Steam the squash over simmering water for 12-15 minutes until completely tender. Drain on kitchen paper, then mash with a fork in a mixing bowl. Stir in the ginger and golden syrup.
- Sieve the flour, raising agents, spices and salt into a mixing bowl. Stir in the almonds.
- In a third bowl, beat the butter and muscovado sugar with electric beaters for about 5 minutes, until pale and fluffy. Add ½ the beaten egg and a spoonful of the flour mixture, then beat again until fully incorporated. Repeat with the remaining egg. Gently fold in the remaining flour mixture, the squash mixture and 150ml buttermilk.
- Tip into the bundt tin and bake for 40-45 minutes, until risen and firm to the touch.
- Place the cake on a wire rack and allow to cool upside down in the tin for 15 minutes, then hold the rack up against the tin opening with a cloth, flip and shake firmly once to remove the cake.
- For the drizzle, combine the remaining 25ml buttermilk with the icing sugar and enough lemon juice to make a sticky, stiff icing that thickly coats the back of a spoon. Drizzle over the cake, allowing it to drape down the sides. Scatter with crystallised ginger and leave to set for 15 minutes before slicing.
Squash and quinoa salad with beetroot yoghurt
Originally from The Guardian, Meera Sodha, this salad does duty as a main course or a rich side dish. Switch in other grains to suit or use vegan yoghurt.
Ingredients
- 1 butternut squash (about 2lbs)
- 2 red onions, peeled
- 400g beetroot
- 150g quinoa
- 3-4 tbspn pumpkin seeds
- 4 tbspn lemon juice (about 2 fresh lemons)
- 20g parsley, leaves picked and roughly chopped
- 150g Greek yoghurt
Method
- Heat the oven to 200C (180 fan) and line 2 trays with baking paper.
- Cut the squash lengthways, scrape out the seeds, and cut into 1cm slices and put them in a bowl.
- Cut the onions into wedges and add to the bowl of squash. Pour over 3 tbspn oil, add half a teaspoon of salt, toss to coat, then tip into one of the baking trays.
- Wash, top and tail the beetroot and cut into wedges. Put these in the now-empty bowl, add a tablespoon of oil and a pinch of salt, toss to coat then tip onto the other tray.
- Roast both trays for 45 mins, checking after 30 mins to make sure that the onions aren’t burning. (If they are, pull them out early.)
- Put the quinoa and a pinch of salt in a saucepan with 375ml just-boiled water. Simmer for 20 mins. Take off the heat and put to one side.
- To assemble the salad, tip the quinoa into the roasted squash and onion. Add the pumpkin seeds, half the lemon juice, 3/4 tspn salt and 1 tbspn oil. Mix well. Add the parsley and mix again.
- When the beetroot has cooled, blend nto a smooth paste with the remaining lemon juice and 2 tbspns water. Scrape the bowl and stir in the yoghurt with a pinch of salt.
- To serve, put the beetroot yoghurt on a place and top with the squash, quinoa, and onion mix.