Lullaby Lodge: Halloween

Showing posts with label Halloween. Show all posts

Wednesday 12 February 2020

Spiced Orange & Pumpkin Cake - A great way to use up all those winter squash, try it, it's delicious...

Hello everyone. I have another recipe to share with you today. This is a family favourite of ours, Little T particularly loves it. As some of you know we have an allotment, where we grow our own fruit and veg. For those of you over the pond who may not know what an allotment is, it's a small plot of land rented from either a private landlord or by the local council. It's a great way to get outside and grow your own food and you get to meet lots of lovely people too. We live in a very small flat and so with no garden of our own, our allotment is our little outdoor space.

In the autumn we harvested many, many winter squashes. These store over the winter really well and will last until around March or April. It's about this time of year that I start to process any of the squash that we have left for storing in the freezer. I simply boil, mash and freeze. You can use any kind of winter squash or pumpkin for this recipe, so if you don't grow your own, most supermarkets will sell some kind of winter squash and some places also sell tinned pumpkin puree.

We grew so many winter squash last year and still have many of the Crown Prince (the blue ones) and Uchiki Kuri (orange) ones left. These are both particularly good for this recipe...

Spiced Orange & Pumpkin Cake

Ingredients

135g plain flour
220g soft brown sugar
1tsp baking powder
110g oil or melted butter
175g pumpkin / squash puree
2 eggs
Pinch of mixed spice
Pinch of nutmeg
2tsp orange extract
Zest of 1 orange
Icing / frosting
Orange slices for decoration (optional)

Preheat oven to 170℃
Line and grease a 7 or 8 inch cake tin (we use an oblong tin but it doesn't really matter what shape)
Mix all dry ingredients together in a large bowl
Add all wet ingredients to another bowl and beat until well mixed
Combine the wet and dry ingredients together and mix until incorporated
Pour into the tin and bake for 25 mins
When the cake is cooked (when poked with a skewer it should come out clean), turn out on a rack to cool
Once cool, ice and decorate with orange slices

We often use shop bought buttercream icing for this cake but you can also make an orange drissel, by combining a little orange juice with icing sugar and orange extract. The cake may also be enjoyed with no icing at all...

Pin it for later...

I hope you will give this a try and I will be back very soon...

Catherine

Saturday 5 October 2019

Get your hook out for Halloween and crochet up one of these fabulous patterns...

Halloween is nearly here, but there is still time to crochet up some spooky, Halloween, hooky. I have a few of my favourite patterns to share with you today from my featured designers and check out the link blast for even more Halloween ideas...

Halloween Crochet

I just love this funky twist on a crochet pumpkin. Divine Debris has created this gorgeously squishy, gingham, pumpkin, in velvet yarn. A great addition for Halloween or fall decor. The pattern is available free over on her blog.

Velvet Pumpkin Goldmine

If you are looking for something super quick and easy to add some Halloween charm to your decor, then look no further than this pretty pattern by Golden Lucy Crafts. I love the way she has decorated these crochet hearts to give them that spooky Halloween vibe.

Halloween Hearts

What witches outfit would be complete without this super cute witch legs scarf. The pattern is by Chelsea at The Crafter Life. Head on over to her blog to check it out...