Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Malay pumpkin fudge cake - a sweet Eid/Thanksgiving/Fall treat!

A belated Eid al-Adha Mubarak and Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who celebrated! Welcome to part 1 (of 2) of my Eid/Thanksgiving blog post. (Click here for Part 2).

As with any festive celebration, there was a lot of food involved with Eid. Apart from the usual curries that my mom makes every year, I decided to try something different with a fall staple: the pumpkin. I was so excited when I found this recipe at Tiffin Biru because it's the perfect blend of my Malay culture, Eid al-Adha, Thanksgiving and the fall season.


Bingka is a category of desserts whose texture is somewhere between a cake and a fudge, much like a very moist fudge cake (duh!). It basically comprises of flour, eggs, sugar and coconut milk (yum!) and it can be made with yam, tapioca, sweet potato, and a few other different vegetables. You can even make it plain with a curried minced meat topping. Labu means pumpkin; so Bingka Labu is, roughly translated, pumpkin fudge cake.


I think it turned out well for a first attempt. The sweetness is mostly from the sugar but the pumpkin flavour is very distinct. My favourite part is the crust, which is extra sweet and pumpkin-y due to the caramalization. Plus, the brilliant shade of yellow is all pumpkin - no artificial colouring whatsoever. How amazing is that?

If you're feeling a little adventurous, follow the jump for the full recipe. I've taken the liberty of translating the recipe into English for your convenience.

Bingka Labu/Malay Pumpkin Fudge Cake


Ingredients:
450g buttercup pumpkin, peeled and seeded
500ml coconut milk/cream
200g all-purpose flour
180g sugar
5 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt

Directions:
1. Steam pumpkin until tender, mash and set aside.
2. Place the rest of the ingredients in a bowl, mix well with a mixer. Strain mixture through a sift to remove lumps.
3. Add mashed pumpkin and mix well.
4. Grease two 12" cake pans with butter. Line the bottoms of the pans with aluminium foil and grease the foil well.
5. Pour mixture into lined and greased cake pans. Bake at 375F for 40-45 minutes.
6. Let cool completely before cutting and serving.

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