Happy 1st Birthday Chloe!

Yesterday my gorgeous little baby Chloe turned 1, I cant believe the year has gone so fast. We are having a big party for her on the weekend so yesterday I made a simple but yummy cake to celebrate, as well as being full of butter & sugar it also had pumpkin & prunes so I figured the first cake Chloe would eat wouldn’t be as bad as it could, we will leave that for the weekend! She loved it which is the main thing anyway. This recipe is courtesy of my friend Suzanne, I first tried it at her place a few months ago & loved it. It is light & moist & the orange flavour stands out, and don’t worry you cant taste the pumpkin if that would bother you. More cakes coming soon if I am satisfied with the results this weekend.

Reflecting on the last year with Chloe, it has been amazing, completely different to how I expected motherhood to be, as my friends would tell you I was probably the least maternal or settled of the lot of us so it came as a big surprise how quickly Chloe stole my heart completely. The year has been challenging, full of fun & laughter & nice to slow down for a change. I cant say I am ready to leave her to go back to the office so I’m glad that I am lucky enough to only be going back part time, that will be hard enough (just over 1 week to go). I wont get too mushy on you all now but will leave you of a photo of the pretty girl herself.

Pumpkin and Prune Cake

250g butter
1 teaspoon grated orange rind
1 cup caster sugar
3 eggs
¼ cup orange juice
¾ cup cold mashed pumpkin (not butternut)
½ cup finely chopped prunes
2 cups SR flour
1/3 cup milk, approx

Cream butter, orange rind & sugar together until light & fluffy. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, then stir in orange juice, then sifted flour alternately with enough milk to give a soft consistency. Stir in pumpkin & prunes.

Spread into a greased Deep 20cm round cake or ring tin lined with greaseproof paper. Bake in a moderate oven for 1-1 ¼ hours (round tin) or 45 mins (ring tin) until ready when tested with a cake skewer. Stand for 5 minutes to cool then turn onto a wire rack to cool completely.

For my icing, I mixed up some icing sugar, lemon juice & rind & boiling water, pour over cake & top with shredded coconut.