Samhain Cake

I've done it! Now that I'm British I've made my first authentic Jack'O'Lantern out of a turnip/swede/rutabaga! 

This was actually my third one, as I carved the first two out at work and even won a prize for one of them! As you may guess, they are a lot more work than a pumpkin, but they aren't so messy either. No gloop!

But that left the question: what do do with all the scooped out vegetable innards???? I could have made soup (the obvious choice) or made haggis, neeps, and tatties (a wonderful choice as well) but I decided to try carrot cake's cousin: turnip cake.

It was, er, interesting and not as bad as one might expect. Everyone who has tried it has been pleasantly surprised, but I don't honestly think it will give carrot cake a run for its money. 

If you wish to give it a shot, the recipe is here (and below).

If not, just enjoy the many faces of my colleagues' Jack'O'Lanterns!!!

Happy Hallowe'en!

Swede (Rutabega) Nutmeg Cake with Brown Butter Frosting and Salted
Hazelnuts
Ingredients
For the cake:
150g (1 cup, packed) raw peeled and grated swede (rutabega)
3 eggs
175g (¾ cup) sugar
100g (½ cup) plain full-fat yogurt
100ml (½ cup) rapeseed or vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
250g (2 ½ cups) plain (self-raising) flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon bicarb of soda (baking soda)
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
½ teaspoon salt
For the brown butter frosting:
400g (3 cups) powdered icing sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3-4 tablespoons milk
115g (½ cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
To serve:
30g (¼ cup) salted hazelnuts, chopped
Instructions
For the cake:
1. Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Grease and line a 9” square cake tin with parchment paper.
2. Beat the eggs, sugar, yogurt, oil and vanilla together well. Stir in the grated swede. Sift in the flour,
baking powder, bicarb of soda, nutmeg and salt and gently stir to combine.
3. Pour into the prepared tin and bake for 25-30 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes out clean. Cool
for 10 minutes in the tin and then turn onto a wire rack, removing the parchment paper, to cool
completely.
For the frosting
1. Put the icing sugar, vanilla and 1 tablespoon of the milk into a large bowl. Set aside.
2. In a saucepan over a low heat, melt the butter and continue to heat until it turns brown and smells nutty.
Pour into the bowl of powdered sugar and beat until thick and smooth, adding more milk if necessary.
3. Top the cooled cake with the frosting and sprinkle with the chopped hazelnuts.