Ingredients

Pumpkin Cake

90 g (3 oz/generous ¾ cup) walnuts, preferably activated dried (see
page 25)
70 g (2½ oz/½ cup) teff flour
70 g (2½ oz/½ cup) brown rice flour
15 g (½ oz/2 tbsp) arrowroot
¾ tsp Himalayan pink salt
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
1½ tsp mixed spice
1½ tsp ground cinnamon
120 g (4¼ oz/generous ¾ cup) Palmyra nectar powder
60 g (2 oz/generous ⅓ cup) sultanas (seedless golden raisins)
150 ml (5 fl oz/scant ⅔ cup) EVCP rapeseed oil, plus extra for greasing
210 g (7½ oz/scant 1 cup) good-quality tinned pumpkin purée (or homemade)
60 g (2 oz/⅔ cup) grated carrot Finely grated zest of 1 orange
2 eggs

Cashew cream

200 g (7 oz/1½ cups) cashew nuts (about 260 g (9¼ oz)
soaked weight)
130 ml (4½ fl oz/generous ½ cup) almond milk

Cashew orange ‘frosting’

1 x recipe cashew cream (see page 27)
80 g (2¾ oz/¼ cup) clear raw honey
¼ vanilla pod (bean), split lengthways and seeds scraped out
Finely grated zest and 4 tsp juice of ½ lemon
Finely grated zest of 1 orange
Pinch Himalayan pink salt
140 g (5 oz/⅔ cup) coconut oil, melted

To decorate

Edible flowers, such as fresh and dried marigolds

Method

Make the frosting first as it needs time in the fridge to firm up.

To make the cashew cream, soak the cashew nuts in 500 ml (17 fl oz/2⅛ cup) of filtered
water and 1 tsp of Himalayan pink salt for 3–4 hours. Drain and rinse thoroughly.

Blend the nuts with the almond milk until completely smooth, stopping the blender and scraping down the mix when necessary. The end result must be totally smooth for use in all recipes.

The cream will keep in the fridge for at least four days in a sealed glass jar.

To make the frosting, combine all the ingredients except the coconut oil in a blender, finishing by blending in the oil. Blend until totally smooth, cover the surface completely with cling film (plastic wrap) and refrigerate for about 8 hours or ideally overnight to thicken.

Preheat the oven to 170°C/325°F/Gas Mark 3. On a baking tray, lightly toast the walnuts for 5–8 minutes, until just beginning to colour, leave to cool then chop into small pea-sized pieces. Grease an 18–20 cm (7–8 inch) loose-bottomed cake tin with rapeseed oil and line the base with baking parchment.

In a large bowl, mix together the walnuts with all the dry ingredients from the teff flour to the sultanas (seedless golden raisins). In another bowl, mix together the oil, pumpkin purée, grated carrot, orange zest and eggs. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients, folding them in until combined.

Pour the mix into the prepared tin and bake for 30–35 minutes, rotating halfway through baking, or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin and then demould. When cool, cut in half and fill with half the cashew orange ‘frosting’, spreading the remainder on top. If your frosting is a little too runny and needs to be firmer, give it a blast in the freezer for about 10 minutes. Decorate with fresh flowers, if you wish.

This keeps well for up to five days in the fridge. It freezes well too, without the frosting.

NOTES

You can also make muffins with the cake mix. Just divide the mix between eight muffin cases and bake at 170°C/325°F/Gas Mark 3 for 15–20 minutes, turning halfway, until a skewer inserted into the centre of a muffin comes out clean. Top with the frosting, or they’re delicious without.

Pecans work well instead of walnuts in this cake.

Recipe and images extracted from Clean Cakes by Henrietta Inman, photography by Lisa Linder. Published by Jacqui Small (£20). www.henscleancakes.com