In a new series, Wing Yip, the Oriental grocery store, shares its expertise with yummy, easy-to-make recipes. As the scariest day of the year creeps closer, it’s time to bake something spooktacular for everyone to enjoy this Halloween.

Halloween parties are becoming more and more popular, and one ingredient that’s always on the menu? Pumpkin of course. Not only is it seasonal in October, but there’s plenty of flesh to use once the carving competitions are underway.

Wing Yip, the UK’s leading Oriental food grocer has teamed up with Michelin-starred Chef Glynn Purnell to create a unique recipe – Chinese Pumpkin Cakes with Spiced Mango and Sesame.

Pumpkins are smooth-textured, sweet, and full of flavour, and although pumpkin pie is a favourite in America, there are so many other recipes that are great for pumpkins, including these cakes – they’re deliciously moreish and scarily simple to make.

So choose treats over tricks this Halloween, share these creepy cakes, they’ll certainly put a smile on the face of any little monsters that might visit.

Pumpkin Cakes

Ingredients:

150g dark chocolate 72% cocoa solids
50g pumpkin seeds – toasted
460g pumpkin skinned, de-seeded and diced into large cubes – choose a pumpkin that is
100g caster sugar
80g soft brown sugar
330g glutinous rice flour – more may be needed
1 tablespoon honey
Pinch table salt
Bright orange and sweet preferably
50g toasted sesame seeds
Sesame oil

Spiced Mango Puree

Ingredients:

3 large mangoes – peeled and stone removed
50g light soft brown sugar
2 star anise
1 cinnamon stick – snapped in half
50ml water

Method for Pumpkin Cakes:

1. Melt the chocolate in a round metal bowl over a bains- marie on a low heat, when all
the chocolate solids have melted remove the bowl from the bains-marie.

2. Roughly chop the pumpkin seeds and season with a pinch of table salt, add this to the
melted chocolate then add the honey and mix together. Spoon this mixture into 2-3cm
demi-sphere moulds and place in the fridge until set.

3. Steam the pumpkin for 30- 40 minutes or until completely soft.

4. Mash the steamed pumpkin with a fork and squeeze any excess water out.

5. Mix both sugars together in a bowl, place the pumpkin into a jug blender and blend on
a slow speed with the sugar, leave to cool for 10 minutes.

6. In an electric mixing bowl with the paddle attachment fitted, beat the pumpkin mix with
the glutinous rice flour on a low speed for 2 minutes, then turn the speed up and beat
for 10 minutes, until smooth and forms into a ball (if the mix is too wet add more flour
until the desired consistency is reached, this will depend on the water content in the
pumpkin).

7. Weigh off the pumpkin dough into 45g pieces and roll into balls, with a rolling pin roll 2
pumpkin balls out to a 5mm disc and place a piece of the chocolate into the centre of
one disc, place the other disc on top and gently press down around the outside to
expel any trapped air, using a 75mm round cutter, cut the excess mix off the pumpkin
cake, gently if onto a tray lined with silicone paper, repeat this process until all the mix
has been used, you can knead the pumpkin mix trim together then repeat the process
until it’s all been used. Reserve in fridge until needed.
50g light soft brown sugar

Method for Mango Puree:

1. Roughly chop the mango flesh and place into a saucepan with the sugar, star anise,
cinnamon and water and cook over a low heat until the mango is thoroughly cooked.

2. Remove the cinnamon and star anise, then blend in a jug blender or with a stick
blender until smooth, feel free to add more spice to your desired taste – ground
cinnamon, Chinese 5 spice, cassia bark.

3. Reserve in fridge until needed.

To serve

Pre-heat oven to 180c.

Heat a non-stick frying pan and add 1 tablespoon sunflower oil, carefully place the
pumpkin cake into the pan flat side 1st, you can cook up to 4 at one time depending on the
size of your pan. Cook until golden then carefully flip over and repeat the process, once
golden remove from the pan and place onto a non-stick tray, place tray into pre-heated
oven for 5-8 minutes until the cakes are cooked, they should have a little give to them
when pressed.

Remove from oven and brush with a little sesame oil, sprinkle with the toasted sesame
seeds and serve warm with a pot of the mango puree.