Butternut ‘Loaf’

A warming ‘tea time’ cake

The tradition of a tea loaf is one of my favourites, a robust fruit cake style bake with lots of spice that is perfect with a spread of butter and a cup of tea after a long cold walk. Combine this with my slightly unhealthy addiction to carrot cake and that a winner in my book. 
Adding vegetables to a sweet bake, especially cakes, is a well established convention, as common these days as adding dried fruit. While the flavour may not be that discernible, the moisture and texture that adding vegetables to a bake brings is delicious, especially during the colder months when comfort food is king. 
To balance the addition of moisture, extra flour or ground nuts is all that’s needed. Essentially something to absorb the liquid retaining the batter texture and allowing the rise to lift the cake uninterrupted. Butternut squash is perfect as it cooks quickly, releasing very little moisture, and has a close texture leaving a hearty warming cake.

Makes a 2lb loaf tin (lined with parchment)
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour

Ingredients:
150g soft butter
150g soft brown sugar
2 large eggs
1tsp baking powder
200g self-raising flour
1tsp mixed spice
¼ shaved nutmeg
180g butternut squash (the top half of a small one)
50g sultanas
1 dessert spoon of marmalade

Preheat oven to 160°C
1. Begin by peeling and coarsely grating the butternut squash.
2. For this very straightforward cake, beat all the ingredients together in an electric mixer, except the sultanas and squash, for a few minutes until the batter is even in colour and texture. 
3. Add the squash and sultanas, beat again to fully incorporate all the ingredients.
4. Spoon into the prepared tin, tap the filled tin on a worksurface to remove any air gaps, then level the surface.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for an hour, give or take a few minutes. To check if the cake is cooked, look for an even rise and that it is firm to a light touch. Insert a skewer into the centre and make sure it out comes clean. 
6. For a delicious glaze, spread the marmalade all over the top and return to the oven for 3 minutes. Remove and leave to stand for a few minutes before taking the cake out of the tin and leaving to cool on a wire rack.

Chef Notes:
1. Sultanas make a pleasant addition to this cake but omit them if you prefer. 
2. Chopped nuts are also delicious with the squash. Add 40g to the batter with the squash.
3. If your marmalade stocks have run dry, a good drizzle of honey is a lovely alternative. 

Robin Popham
Chef at ‘Create Terroir’ and Sandy Lane Farm veg box customer