Kabocha Squash is often compared to pumpkin but really has a natural sweet chestnut-tee taste. It almost like creamy chestnut mixed with sweet potato. Kobocha Squash is high in nutrition and is ONLY 40 calories a cup and is fat free before you add things to it. I try to think up ways to use it all the time. One of the best ways to use it is to make delicious desserts a little healthier and a little lighter. I’ve come up with a cake recipe this time and used my bundt pan (that I never use) for the second time. This is a one bowl easy recipe. You just stir the ingredients in the order given with a Fork. Just add a little drizzle and some crushed chestnuts if desired. Something special that’s delicious, quick and easy to prepare. I should note that I cooked the Kacocha Squash very well and past fork tender…..I also used brown turbinado sugar in this recipe. Turbinado sugar is minimally refined sugar and also has a different moisture content than regular and brown sugar. Your results WILL DIFFER if you use a different sugar.

Ingredients for about 15 servings

4 oz sweet butter – room temperature

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup brown turbinado sugar

3 eggs – lightly beaten

2 cups kabocha squash – cooked VERY WELL and slightly past fork tender and then mashed (PLEASE ROAST THE SQUASH! all you do is stab the squash about 4x and put on a pan in a 350 degree F oven for at least an hour and 15 minutes you want it very well done (******(or a little more if it’s a big one, cut in half scoop out seeds and scoop flesh from skin))

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

pinch course sea salt

non stick spray – canola or vegetable

2 teaspoons turbinado sugar – for dusting the pan

1/2 cup – 1 cup chocolate chips or another flavor for drizzle (The Bittersweet Chips are …Forking CRAZY Good here) ((I used 1/2 cup caramel chips that I had to doctor up with some spices because they didn’t taste much different than white chips and I also used 1/2 cup bittersweet chips…each 1/2 cup was melted with 2 Tablespoons of HOT butter)

2 Tablespoons – 4 Tablespoons melted butter for drizzle

3 oz roasted chestnuts – crushed for cake topping

Directions

Set oven to 350 degrees F.

Spray bundt pan with non stick spray.

Dust pan with 2 teaspoons turbinado sugar and set to the side.

Get a large bowl. Hand mix everything in with a fork. Mix the butter. Add white sugar and mix that into the butter. Add brown sugar mix in.  Mix in eggs till it looks creamy. Mix in squash. Dump the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix till combined.

Batter goes in bunt pan.

Put bunt pan in the 350 degree F. oven for about 30 minutes or until the cake feels done. It should spring back lightly when you touch it.

Let it cool on the counter some and when it’s almost cool invert the cake on a plate.

I tried a 1/2 cup of those new caramel chips. I melted 2 Tablespoons butter in the microwave and then stirred in the chips and put them in the microwave for 20 seconds…..They didn’t taste the way I wanted and were not much different than white chocolate so I added a 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon and a pinch of nutmeg to the drizzle and just put it in a ziplock bag.

Squirted with ziplock bag with corner cut off.

Then I did a drizzle of chocolate the same way but in a circular motion. Afterwards I poured the crushed chestnuts over the cake.

It came out REALLY FORKING GREAT!……… SUPER Great tender moist crumb and really GREAT FLAVORS. It’s not too sweet it’s just full of delicious flavors. The sugar that dusted the pan created a pleasing crunch on the surface and all the toppings are delicious but not too much because you only eat thin slices. I am SHOCKED my husband LOVES IT. He’s not into sweets and he is not a fan of  kabocha squash either and he ALSO isn’t found of chestnuts but even he says this cake is delicious and can’t stop eating it. He can’t stop talking about how perfect tasting, moist and delicious this cake is. It really is!

This one is a FORKING GREAT ORIGINAL by me.