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The autumn season brings us many varieties of gourds. I've had plenty of spaghetti squash around lately, so I thought I'd do some experimenting. I made this lovely orange and cardamom infused cake using pureed spaghetti squash. I candied some strands of the squash to make a beautiful sweet topping. Sprinkled with some crushed rose petals, it was quite the luxurious offering! You'd never know there was squash inside this dessert, but it sure lends to its velvety composition and deep nutty flavour. I hope you give this one a shot!
I used about 2 cups of spaghetti squash in the cake batter and 1 cup for the candied topping.
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
Yield: 8-9 servings
Ingredients:
- 2 cups cake flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 medium spaghetti squash, cooked
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 cardamom pods
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 orange
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 2 cardamom pods
- 2 tsp food grade edible crushed rose petals
- 1 tsp cooking oil
- 2 Tbsp brown sugar
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Steps:
- Preheat oven to 350 F. In a large bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- Break open 2 cardamom pods, discard shells, and crush into a powder with a spice grinder or mortar and pestle.
- Whisk cardamom into a bowl with the cup of sugar.
- Place 2 cups of the cooked spaghetti squash and 2 tablespoons of of the cardamom sugar into a food processor.
- Puree, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides.
- Keep going until you have a smooth paste.
- In a large bowl, beat together the softened butter and the rest of the cardamom sugar. Cream until it's fluffy and light in colour.
- Beat in eggs one at a time.
- Beat in vanilla.
- Add a bit of the flour mixture and beat on low speed.
- Now add a bit of the pureed squash mixture and beat on low speed. Keep alternating adding flour and squash until it's all combined and smooth.
- Grate half the orange peel into the batter. Stir well.
- Grease a large angel food or bundt pan. A large cake pan will do, too. I just wanted the hollowed middle to fill with the candied squash at the end.
- Pour batter into pan and bake for about 45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Cool, remove from pan, then cool completely on a rack.
- To make the icing, crush the other 2 cardamom pod seeds and whisk into powdered sugar.
- Squeeze about 2 to 3 tablespoons of juice out from the orange, then whisk in sour cream.
- Whisk the cardamom powdered sugar together with sour cream orange juice mixture. Grate in the about 1/4 of the remaining orange's zest.
- To make the candied topping, add a teaspoon of oil to a pan and add a cup of spaghetti squash strands. Cook for a few minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and cook, stirring constantly.
- Squash will caramelize and sugar will bubble. When it seems rather stiff and gluey, shut off heat.
- Drizzle the icing all over the cake and sprinkle with crushed rose petals. Fill the hole with the candied squash, working your way up to a big mountain. Decorate with remaining strands of orange peel.
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