Pumpkin cake with raisins

We can't wait for autumn to make this pumpkin cake with raisins. You could even say, it is eaten faster than you can make it. And this autumn cake is really not difficult to make! But it tastes so good... And spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, it is the perfect medicine on dark rainy days.

How to make pumpkin cake with raisins

The pumpkin

For this pumpkin cake with raisins you can use both a Hokkaido and a butternut squash. Take a small pumpkin, because you will have surplus anyway. Later we will give tips on how to make good use of the leftovers.

Cut the pumpkin into slices and remove the skin. Although you can also eat these pumpkin varieties with skin, we still go for the pure flesh in this cake. We then finely grind it in the food processor.

The raisins

As you can understand from the title of this recipe, raisins also play a leading role in this autumn cake. We first squeeze an orange and soak the raisins in it. This gives a delicious taste to the raisins.

Do you want a version for adults? Then add another tablespoon of rum or Grand Marnier. It gives extra taste and naughtiness.

Preparing the dough

After we have prepared the pumpkin and raisins, we can start with the remaining steps to make the dough.

First of all, we break the eggs and separate the white and yellow. We will set the egg white aside for now.

We beat the egg yolks manually or with the mixer until creamy. Then we add the brown sugar. We continue to mix until we have a homogeneous mass.

Then we add the ground pumpkin under the creamy egg yolk and sugar mixture. Next we take the raisins out of their marinade and add them to the dough as well. Lemon juice, the zest of the lemon and the almond powder follow. In the penultimate step, we mix the flour and baking powder into the dough mass.

Now the only ingredient left are the egg-whites. But before we whip that up, we grease the baking mold and sprinkle it with almond powder. Of course you can't bake without an oven. We put it on hot air at 170°C. We don't do this too early to save energy. And normally it will be warm by the time we can put the mold in the oven. In the worst case, you have to wait a few more minutes for the oven to heat up.

So we beat the egg whites with the mixer until they are completely stiff. We then carefully mix that under the dough with the spatula. We don't want to destroy the structure. And this way the dough becomes extra airy.

And then off in the oven

When the dough is homogeneous and everything is well mixed together, we can pour it into the cake mold. And then put it in the oven, if it has already reached 170°C. There the cake can bake for an hour.

After one hour you can check with a knitting needle or a skewer whether the cake is done. Normally this should be the case. Then take the cake out of the oven and let it cool down for five minutes. Then it will get more solid and will not break when you take it out of the mold.

I found the original idea for this cake on lekkers met bio, a Dutch website. You can also use dried cranberries as an alternative to raisins. Or a mixture of both.

More surprising.pumpkin

Of course you will have leftover pumpkin when you make this pumpkin cake with raisins. Pumpkins are normally much larger. But this gives you a reason to make some other delicious pumpkin recipes. Be inspired by the following ideas:

• Spicy roasted pumpkin.
• Pumpkin soup with wild rice.
• Biscoff pumpkin pie.
• Vegetarian pumpkin noodles.
• Pumpkin cake roll with pecans.

More surprising.cake

Who does not love a cake on Sunday afternoon? Or you may want to surprise your colleagues and friends with these delicious cakes:

• Cherry coconut cake.
• Refreshing coconut polenta cake.
• Gin-tonic cake.
• Easy apple cake.
• Swiss carrot cake.

If you speak Dutch, you can find the Dutch version of this recipe on gerechtenweb.blog.