Whilst writing Red Velvet & Chocolate Heartache, I ate cake for breakfast most days. This cake is perfect for breakfast on the go: simply wrap it up in cling film and take it with you. The combination of the honey and butternut squash in this recipe gives the cake a special sticky, sweet quality and because there is neither oil nor butter in this recipe, there’s no need for any guilt! Serves 9 Time spent in the kitchen: 45 minutes This cake keeps for a week wrapped in cling film. Ingredients: 100g plain flour 120g ground almonds ¼ tsp salt 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda 200g runny honey 3 medium free-range eggs 250g peeled, de-seeded and finely grated butternut squash 1 tsp almond extract Finely grated zest of 1 lemon 100g golden raisins 100g dried cranberries 100g blanched almonds, chopped
Method: Preheat the oven to 180C conventional setting. Brush a (22 cm square x 5cm deep) brownie tin with a little vegetable oil. Line the tin with parchment paper. Trim the paper to fit the tin. Brush the paper with a little more oil to prevent sticking. Combine the flour with the ground almonds, salt, baking powder and bicarbonate of soda into a large mixing bowl. Make a well in the centre. Warm the honey until it is hot and runny. You can either do it in a small saucepan or on in the microwave. In another bowl, beat the eggs with the hot honey with the help of a balloon whisk. Add the grated butternut squash, almond extract and lemon zest before mixing to combine. Pour the honey, eggs and pumpkin mixture in the well you have made from the dry ingredients. Gradually incorporate them together with the help of a balloon whisk until you have a loose, wet dough. Finally fold the raisins, dried cranberries, and almonds into the mixture with the help of a spatula. Tip the cake batter into the prepared tin and cook in the middle of a hot oven for 35 minutes until risen and golden. Let the cake rest and cool, then it’s ready to enjoy! Recipe created by Harry Eastwood for National Honey Week (3rd - 9th May 2010)