Cheesy Pumpkin Toastie & Plum Cake

Pumpkin season is in full swing so a great way to use up leftover Halloween Pumpkin. Any surplus plums left try a plum cake….

Cheesy Pumpkin Toastie

Ingredients

  • 350g pumpkin, deseeded and cut into wedges
  • Vegetable oil to drizzle
  • 20g unsalted butter
  • 20g plain flour
  • 1 tsp English mustard powder
  • ½-1 tsp cayenne pepper to taste
  • 100ml whole milk
  • 100g mature cheddar, coarsely grated
  • Dash Worcestershire sauce
  • 8 slices bread
  • 4 slices ham (optional)
  • 250g camembert or brie, sliced

Method

Heat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6. Put the pumpkin wedges on a tray, drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 40 minutes until tender. Once cool enough to handle, peel off the skins, then squeeze the flesh to remove any excess liquid.

Put the flesh in a blender and whizz until smooth or mash with a potato masher. If the purée is still quite wet (it will depend on the variety of pumpkin you’re using), cook it in a dry pan over a medium heat for 5-10 minutes.

Melt the butter in a saucepan over a medium heat, then add the flour, mustard powder and cayenne. Cook for a few minutes, stirring the mixture to a paste. Add the milk gradually, stirring well between each addition, until smooth, then stir in the pumpkin purée.

Bring the mixture to a simmer and allow it to bubble for a few minutes, then stir in the cheddar to melt. Remove from the heat, season with salt and pepper, then add the Worcestershire sauce.

Heat the grill to medium-high. Toast the bread under the grill on both sides. Spread half the cheesy pumpkin mixture onto 4 slices of the toast. Divide the ham (if using) and camembert or brie between the slices, then top each with a second slice of toast. Coat the top with the remaining pumpkin mixture.

Put the sandwiches back under the grill for 1-2 minutes until golden, bubbling and melted

 

Plum Cake

Ingredients

• 175g butter
• Butter for greasing
• demerara sugar
• plums or you can use raspberries

For the cake

• 175g butter
• 175g dark muscovado sugar
• 140g golden syrup
• 2 eggs beaten
• 200ml milk
• 300g self-raising flour
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 tbsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp mixed spice

Method

Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease and line the base of a 23cm square cake tin with baking parchment. Butter the paper generously and sprinkle with the demerara sugar. Halve the plums and arrange in the base of the tin in 1 layer, cut-sides down.

For the cake, melt the butter, muscovado sugar and syrup in a large pan over a low heat, stirring until smooth.

Cool for 10 mins, then stir in the eggs and milk. Sift in the flour, bicarbonate of soda and spices, then mix to a smooth batter. Pour the batter into the tin, over the plums, and bake for 45-55 mins until firm to the touch. Cool in the tin for 10 mins, then turn out onto a wire rack and leave to cool.