Pumpkin cake with walnuts

I made this deliciously soft cake for the first time a year ago, when my mother-in-law gave me six pumpkins as a present, because she had too many in her back garden. Most of them I used to make soup and warming stews, but I had found a nice recipe for a pumpkin cake in the Dutch magazine LandIdee and I was excited to try it. I had never made a pumkin cake myself, but enjoyed the ones my mother made. The original recipe I changed to my taste, hoping I would get the right consistency. For the first time, I had the opportunity to use the special zesting tool in my food processor! What a joy. Bacause I was so foolish to go and play a very difficult card game with my boyfriend while the cake was in the oven, I quite forgot that I was supposed to go and check the baking proces. The top was a little darker than I would have liked it to be, but it didn't affect te taste at all. This cake has a beautiful soft texture and is easy to make. Ingredients for 1 cake -250g organic pumpkin, finely grated (don't bother to remove te peel) - 150g wheat flour - 100g walnuts or other nuts, roughly chopped - 4-5 tbsp clear honey (I used thyme, for it gives the cake an extra strong flavour)

- 100g sugar

- 100mL sunflower oil - 1 tsp baking powder - 1/2 tsp mixed spice (koekkruiden) - 4 organic eggs Preheat the oven at 180 degrees Celsius. Grease a cake tin of 24cm with some oil and dust it with flour. Set aside. Break the eggs in a bowl, add the sugar and beat together until the mixture is light and frothy (about 5 minutes). I used a mixer, medium power. Add sunflower oil and honey and stir gently. Stir in the chopped walnuts and grated pumpkin. Sieve the flour, spices and baking powder into the bowl and mix carefully with a spatula until the batter is smooth. Tranfer it to the cake tin you prepared earlier and put in the middle of the oven for 30-40 minutes. Please check the way it browns every now and then (don't loose yourself in silly games, books or movies) and if you notice the top is darkening to quickly, cover with a sheet of aluminium foil. To check whether the cake is done, you should insert a skewer in the centre and if it comes out clean, then you're done! Let it cool and decorate the cake with walnuts, roasted pumpkin seeds or just icing sugar, like I did. Enjoy!