butternut bundt cake with orange glaze & toasted nuts

A Healthier Butternut Cake With All The Right Flavours!

Whether you’re celebrating Thanksgiving, (If that’s you, Happy Thanksgiving!) or are just gearing up for end of year gatherings – this Butternut Bundt Cake is the solution to your tea time sweet treat cravings!  Or for that matter your after dinner sweet treat cravings, there are no rules here! (Not at this time of year anyway).

This is a dense cake that is perfectly moist and entirely satisfying. The orange zest in the cake as well as the orange glaze that is drizzled over the cake when it’s fresh out the oven give this butternut cake a zingy freshness that compliments the sweet butternut so well.

For a few more delicious cake ideas take a look at the best chocolate brownie cake (sugar & dairy free) and my ginger treacle loaf with yoghurt raspberry frosting. 

Back to the cake at hand – Just to add a little extra decadence and festive flair I piled some toasted and caramelised almonds and cashews onto the cake and dusted it with icing sugar which always looks so inviting and pretty. The nuts add some delicious crunch and extra flavour, as well as a whole lot of visual interest as a finishing touch. 

One of the best things about this butternut bundt cake is that it’s rather on the large side….which means you can either feed an army with it, or there’s lots more where that last piece came from.  Every little slice leaves you looking forward to the next. 

With the brown flour, reduced sugar and generous amount of fresh butternut in the cake, you don’t have to worry too much about indulging.  I’m all about finding healthier alternatives to delicious dishes so you never feel deprived, and you are in some way adding something nutritious to your diet. 

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butternut bundt cake with orange glaze & toasted almonds

Prep Time

55 mins

Cook Time

40 mins

Total Time

1 hr 35 mins

 

Course: Dessert

Servings: 10

Author: berry sweet life

Ingredients

• FOR THE CAKE
• 0.6 kg butternut squash
• 2 3/4 cups whole wheat brown flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp bicarb
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 3 tbsp honey
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• Rind of 1 orange
• Juice of 1/4 lemon
• FOR THE GLAZE
• Juice and rind of 1 orange
• Juice of 1/4 lemon
• 2 tbsp white sugar
• FOR THE TOASTED NUTS
• 2 handfuls of Almonds
• 1 handful of cashews
• 1/2 tbsp honey
• 1 tsp brown sugar

Instructions

1. TO MAKE THE CAKE:
2. Preheat oven to 160°C and grease an 8 or 9 inch bundt pan.
3. Peel and cube the butternut and boil in 3 cups of water for about 15 minutes until very soft.
4. While the butternut is cooking, combine the flour, baking powder, bicarb, salt and spices in a large mixing bowl.
5. Pour the water off the butternut and mash until it is smooth.
6. In another bowl, whisk together the butternut, brown sugar, honey, oil, lemon juice and eggs. Stir in the rind of 1 orange.
7. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix with a metal spoon until combined.
8. Pour mixture into the bundt pan and bake on the middle shelf for about 30 minutes.
9. Allow the cake to cool completely before turning out onto a cooling rack.
10. TO MAKE THE GLAZE:
11. Mix all ingredients together in a small saucepan. Heat until the sugar dissolves and pour over the turned out cake. You might want to place a plate under the cooling rack to catch the drips.
12. TO MAKE THE TOASTED NUTS:
13. Place nuts in a frying pan and toast them on a medium heat until they are golden, stirring often so they don't burn. Add the honey & sugar and stir until the nuts are caramelised and sticky.
14. Pile on top of the cake and serve.