A Perfect Fall Recipe: Butternut Squash and Candied Ginger Cake
This novel cake recipe transforms squash into a sweet confection. (Think carrot cake, but instead of grated carrots and raisins, you’ll swap in fermented butternut squash and chopped candied ginger.)
Before the fermentation part, butternut squash is peeled, grated and mixed with maple syrup, salt and water. This mixture is then packed into a sterilized jar and fermented at room temperature for one week.
The benefits of this cake are many: not only is it plant-based, but it comes together easily in a single bowl without need of any equipment. Better still, it’s packed with probiotics and added fiber thanks to ground flaxseeds.
Tips for Fermented Baked Goods
- Adding ferments to a baked good lends natural leavening properties because of their acid content.
- Fermenting produce creates free-forming amino acids that yield flavor complexity and help balance the sweetness of baked goods.
- Make sure your flax seed is ground and not whole (so that it works properly as a binding agent).
- Cool cake completely before transferring onto a cake stand. It’s a bit more fragile when warm because of the shredded vegetables, which contribute to a less strong, less developed gluten network.
- Squeeze the ferment mixture completely to remove excess moisture from the cake.
Ingredients
Fermented Maple Cinnamon Butternut Squash
Yield: 1 quart-sized jar
- 1 small butternut squash, peeled, deseeded & shredded
- ¼ cup maple syrup
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- 1 tablespoon sea salt
- water, to cover
Fermented Butternut Squash & Candied Ginger Cake
Yield: 1 12-inch cake
- 2 ½ cups fermented maple cinnamon butternut squash
- ½ cup oat milk
- pinch sea salt
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¾ cup hazelnut oil (or oil of choice)
- ¼ cup ground flax seeds
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 cup chopped candied ginger, plus more for garnish
To Serve:
- 1 cup heavy whipping cream
- 2 tablespoons powdered sugar, or to taste
Directions
Fermented Maple Cinnamon Butternut Squash
- Add shredded butternut squash, maple syrup, cinnamon sticks and sea salt to a large bowl.
- Massage and allow mixture to rest for a few minutes.
- Pack into a sterilized, quart-sized glass jar along with any residual liquid. Arrange fermentation weight and cover with water as needed.
- Attach air lock lid and ferment at room temperature for 5 to 7 days.
Fermented Butternut Squash & Candied Ginger Cake
- Preheat oven to 350º F.
- Grease the inside of a cake pan. Line bottom with parchment paper.
- Squeeze excess moisture out of fermented vegetable mixture and add oat milk.
- Fold sea salt, vanilla extract, hazelnut oil, ground flax seeds and sugar into the same bowl, until evenly combined.
- Slowly stir in flour and baking powder until batter forms. Fold in chopped candied ginger.
- Scoop batter into lined pan.
- Bake 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cool before transferring to a plate or cake stand.
- Add heavy whipping cream to a bowl and whisk until soft peaks form.
- Sprinkle in powdered sugar.
- Top cooled cake with whipped cream and remaining candied ginger before serving.
