Pumpkin Cake

This cake brought smiles to many people's faces with its sweet smell which floated through the air, as well as its even better taste. :) I have to thank my dear friend Green for the recipe as well as the effort she put into baking this cake. I was just the little kitchen helper so all I did was prepare the pumpkins, but she was the real chef! :D

Everyone was satisfied with the cake and as you will notice yourself, it isn't too complicated to make so you will also be able to enjoy it whenever you feel like it.

You Will Need:

• 2 eggs
• 100g sugar
• 250ml yogurt
• 1 vanilla sugar
• 75ml vegetable oil
• 250g plain flour
• 1 baking powder
• 3 big spoons of mashed pumpkin (1 middle-sized pumpkin should be enough for this quantity)
• 100g hazelnuts (finely chopped/grinded)

Note: we doubled this dose, separated the mixture into two parts to get 2 cakes and baked both cakes in a wreath-shaped baking form. If you choose to bake in a normal cake form, then I definitely recommend a double dose otherwise the cake will end up being too shallow.

How To Prepare:

1. Separate the pumpkin meat from the shell and get all the seeds out. Cut up the "meat" into smaller pieces.
2. Cook the pumpkin until it gets soft (just like if you were preparing mashed potatoes...test the pumpkin with a fork to see if it's soft enough). If you can easily squish it, then it's done.
3. Squash it like you would a potato until you get mashed pumpkin. 
4. Mix eggs with sugar.
5. Add the oil, vanilla sugar and mashed pumpkin to the egg mixture.
6. Mix the baking powder into the flour and add the chopped/grinded hazelnuts. After this, add this to the previous mixture.
7. Prepare the baking form you have by oiling and flouring it up a bit so the cake doesn't stick and pour the mixture into it.
8. Bake at 180°C for about 20-40 minutes (depending on the strength of your oven). Check if the cake is ready every once in a while by sticking a toothpick in it; when the dough stops sticking to it then you know it's done.

So bon appétit and have a blessed Samhain! :D