Hello.
It will soon be Halloween which isn’t as big an event here in Australia or Japan like it is in the US. It’s usually just the neighbourhood kids coming over to get some candy, but I got some organic pumpkins, so I thought I would make some easy cakes and drinks. Edible Halloween decorations are easily available these days, so you don’t have to go to the trouble of making them, but they’ll add more character to your creations. This time, I made a chiffon cake using a cupcake mould, added pumpkin puree and spices, and decorated the top with whipped cream to give it a slightly ugly ghost with eyes. I also made a pumpkin chai tea to go with this chiffon cake.
About Pumpkins
Vitamins A, C, and E found in pumpkins are nutrients related to the immune system.
The antioxidant properties of vitamins A, C, and E not only help boost immunity, but also prevent aging. Vitamin E is considered a strong antioxidant and is sometimes called the “rejuvenation” vitamin. Vitamin A protects the skin from drying out, and vitamin C is essential for collagen production! Pumpkin contains 2.7 times more vitamin C than a banana and 11 times more vitamin C than an apple, which is more than the amount of fruit we usually eat.
Pumpkin is also a great source for potassium and helps to reduce swelling! When the human body takes in too much salt, it stores water, which causes swelling. To reduce swelling, it is important to eliminate this excess water. Potassium helps to eliminate excess salt, and when it does so, it also eliminates water. This leads to the reduction of swelling.
Pumpkin is a delicious, nutritious, and versatile vegetable.
What you need for these recipes (pumpkin chiffon cake and pumpkin chai tea)
Pumpkin- I used Japanese Pumpkin for this recipe. Butternut squash is too watery I found.
Eggs- I used Extra-large 700g free range.
Sugar- I used raw sugar.
Oil-I used rice oil.
Flour-Plain flour
Baking powder
Thickened cream- whatever you like
Milk- I used cow milk – for chiffon cake and I used rice milk for chai tea
Cinnamon
Nutmeg- I used whole one grated for a fresh, beautiful aroma.
Fresh ginger
Cardamon- I used whole pods and when you use smash them with a knife, you’ll release a delicious aroma.
Fennel seeds
Cloves
Vanilla bean paste (you can use Vanilla bean sticks if you prefer)
Black tea or coffee (if you want to add your chai tea)
Tip for these recipes
• Cut the pumpkin small so it’s easy to soften with the microwave.
• When softening the pumpkin, I set my microwave at 600w for 5mins at first. After checking the pumpkin cook for 2mins at a time until the pumpkin gets soft.
• When you put the softened pumpkin into the mixer, be careful not add the liquid in bottom of the dish. You don’t want to your puree to be too wet.
• For chiffon cake, you need 160g of pumpkin puree.
• For chai tea, you need 230g of pumpkin puree.
• Make sure there is no water or oil left in bowls, whippers, hand mixers, or other utensils.
• Sift flour when adding flour to egg yolks.
• When beating egg whites, add sugar a little at a time.
• When mixing the egg yolks, stir in the sugar a little at a time to completely emulsify the mixture.
• When adding the meringue, use a spatula to mix it into the egg yolk mixture in 3-4 portions.
• For chai tea, smash the whole cardamon so come seeds out and you will get a beautiful aroma from your tea.
• You can add any form of sweetener to your chai tea but taste it first because you may find it’s sweet enough from the pumpkin.
• When you drink chai tea, strain the tea so you don’t drink any spice seeds.
• You can add coffee or black tea but if you don’t want any caffeine, you can drink just the chai mixture.
• I used rice milk for chai tea, but you can use any milk you like such as nut milk, oat milk, soy milk, cow milk etc.
Pumpkin chiffon cupcake
Equipment
- 1 Hand mixer
Ingredients
- 3 each Egg yolk
- 30 g Sugar
- 30 g Oil
- 50 ml Milk
- 160 g Pumpkin puree
- 70 g Flour
- 1 tsp Baking powder
- ½ tsp Cinnamon powder
- ⅛ tsp Whole nutmeg
- 3 each Egg white
- 30 g Sugar
- 200 g Thickened cream
- 20 g Sugar
- ¼ tsp Cinnamon powder
- ⅛ tsp Whole nutmeg
Instructions
- Wash and remove the pumpkin’s skin and seeds then cut the pumpkin small.
- Put the pumpkin into a microwave safe dish and cover with cling wrap.
- Set the microwave for 600 w and put the pumpkin into a microwave for 5mins. Check the pumpkin is soft but if still hard, put it back into the microwave for 2 mins at time until the pumpkin is soft.
- Put the pumpkin into the mixer and blend until smooth. Be careful not to add the liquid from the bottom of dish otherwise your puree will be too wet.
- Weigh the puree and take 160g of the puree for chiffon cake.
- Preheat the oven for 180℃.
- Separate yolk and egg white into bowls.
- Whisk the egg whites and add the sugar, 1/3 at a time, to form a soft meringue.
- Add the sugar to the egg yolk a little at a time. Mix with a hand mixer until completely emulsified.
- Add the 30ml of oil and continue whisking the egg yolk until it looks like mayonnaise.
- Add 50ml of milk as whisking.
- Next add 160g of pumpkin puree and stir well with a spatula.
- Grate the whole nutmeg into the mix, add ½ tsp of cinnamon powder, and stir well.
- Sift the 70g of flour and 1 tsp of baking powder into the yolk mixture.
- Combine the flour and yolk mixture.
- Add 1/3 of the meringue to the egg yolk batter, blend, and mix gently.
- Add the remaining meringue to the egg yolk mixture as well and mix gently.
- Pour the chiffon cake mixture into cupcake moulds.
- Bake them for 20mins
- After 20mins, remove the chiffon cake from the oven and put them on a rack to cool.
- In the meantime, make the whipped cream. Weigh 200g of thickened cream and add 20g of sugar and combine with a whisk.
- Grate the nutmeg, add ¼ tsp of cinnamon, and whisk again. Do not add the spice before the thickened cream becomes whipped cream.
- Put the cream into a piping bag with a tip.
- Check the chiffon cakes are cool and make hole in the middle of chiffon cakes with a chopstick or skewer.
- Squeeze the cream in the hole and on top of the cupcake. I did it a little bit messy because I wanted it to look like a pesky ghost.
- Add eyes to the cream
Video
Pumpkin chai tea
Ingredients
- 230 g Pumpkin puree
- 1 cup Filtered water
- 2 cup Milk any milk you like
- 1 each Cinnamon stick
- 3-4 sliced Fresh ginger
- ½ tsp Fennel seeds
- 4 each Cardamon pods
- ⅛ tsp Whole nutmeg Grate
- 6 each Cloves
- ½ tsp Vanilla bean paste
- Coffee, Black tea, sugar
Instructions
- Crush the whole cardamon pods and open them
- Slice the fresh ginger.
- Add 1 cup of filtered water into the mixer then add 230g of the pumpkin puree combining well.
- Pour the pumpkin mixture into a pot.
- Add 2 cup of milk.
- Turn heat to low and add the spices, grated nutmeg, and vanilla bean paste.
- Go slowly, don’t rush it. You want a beautiful, spiced aroma from your tea.
- That is your chai mix. Add this to black tea, or coffee for a chai-latte, or if you don’t want any caffeine, you can just drink it.
- Also, you can use any sweetener. Sometimes I find pumpkin is sweet so I don’t add anything but if you have a sweet tooth, you can add sugar, coconut sugar, honey, or maple syrup.
Video
How would you like this?
How to make a beautiful purple Hawaiian Sweet Potato Pie.
YouTube Channel Grazing Wombat
