SERVES: 10

1. Pre-heat fan oven to 180°C.

2. Grease and line your cake tin. For best results use a 25cm diameter, 5cm deep, circular, springform tin. 

3. Sift the flour into a mixing bowl and fold in the cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon.

4. Mix the double cream, vanilla extract, and pumpkin puree together. Why not try our own delicious sweet pumpkin puree recipe. Ensure the pumpkin puree is cool before using in this recipe.

5. Beat the butter and sugar.

6. Add one egg at a time to the butter and sugar mixture, beat mixture as you add the eggs.

7. Add half of the cream and pumpkin mixture and half of the butter and sugar mixture to the dry flour mix. Blend and repeat until all the mixtures are incorporated.

8. Pour mixture into cake tin, tap tin to allow mixture to level and place in the middle of the pre-heated oven.

9. Check on cake and remove from oven after 50 minutes or until a knife inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean.

10. Allow to cool in the tin for 20 minutes and then carefully turn onto a cooling rack, allowing to cool completely before icing.

11. Break the chocolate into small pieces and place in a mixing bowl.

12. Pour the cream into a saucepan and slowly heat.

13. Add the sugar whilst continually stirring until the cream starts to simmer.

14. Once the cream starts to boil remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate.

15. Stir until you have a thick, smooth, glossy ganache.

16. Poor over the cake and allow to set.

Have fun decorating your rich, indulgent chocolate cake, whether it is for a tea-time treat, a birthday or a Halloween celebration this recipe is sure to be a crowd-pleaser!

Our recipes work best with small, sweet pumpkins and squashes. We find larger pumpkins are better and look great as Halloween lanterns but tend not to be as full of flavour.  

Dorset Country Pumpkins’, "Rich Pumpkin Chocolate Cake" was created and photographed by Alice Miller.