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Pumpkin Pie

Spiced Pumpkin Cake with Chocolate & Nuts

A wonderfully generous vintage European pumpkin cake packed with warm spices, dark chocolate, and crunchy nuts. The fresh grated pumpkin keeps the cake moist, while cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, and nutmeg give it a beautifully autumnal flavor.
This is a large cake, exactly the sort of old-fashioned bake made for sharing.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 1 minute
Servings: 6
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: European
Calories: 520
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 3 large eggs
  • 700 g cups packed brown sugar (about3 1/2)
  • 350-700 g finely grated fresh pumpkin
  • 360 ml olive oil
  • 440 g all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
  • 1 tsp ground cardamom
  • 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 100 g dark chocolate, roughly chopped
  • 220-250 g nuts or almonds, roughly chopped
  • Butter or oil, for greasing
  • Sesame seeds, for coating the pan

Method
 

  1. Preheat the oven to 175°C / 350°F.
  2. Grease a large springform pan and sprinkle the inside with sesame seeds, turning the pan so they adhere to the greased surface.
  3. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs together with the brown sugar until well combined and slightly aerated.
  4. Stir in the finely grated fresh pumpkin and olive oil.
  5. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg, and cinnamon.
  6. Roughly chop the dark chocolate and nuts or almonds.
  7. Gradually combine the dry ingredients with the pumpkin and egg mixture, stirring only until evenly incorporated.
  8. Fold in the chopped chocolate and nuts.
  9. Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan and level the top.
  10. Bake for approximately 1 hour, or until the center is set and a skewer inserted into the cake comes out without wet batter.
  11. Allow the cake to cool in the pan before removing the springform sides.

Notes

Fresh pumpkin: The original recipe specifically calls for grated pumpkin flesh, not canned pumpkin purée.
The unusual 3–6 cup measurement is original. That is a very wide range, so I would preserve it rather than pretend the cookbook gives a more precise amount. For a reliable modern starting point, I'd use about 4 cups finely grated pumpkin.
Nuts: The original allows either rieksti (nuts) or almonds. Walnuts would be especially good here, but almonds, hazelnuts, or a mixture would also work.
Chocolate: Use a good dark chocolate and chop it roughly rather than using chocolate chips if you want to stay close to the original recipe.
Olive oil: Yes — 1½ cups really is what the recipe calls for. Combined with the large amount of brown sugar, this is a rich, moist celebration-style cake rather than a light pumpkin loaf.
Pan size: The cookbook specifies a springform pan but doesn't give its diameter. Given the very large quantity of batter, I would use a large 26–28 cm / 10–11 inch springform pan and avoid filling it more than about ¾ full. Any excess batter can be baked separately as muffins.
Sesame seeds: Don't skip this detail if you're recreating the vintage recipe — the greased pan is actually sprinkled with sesame seeds before the batter goes in. That's an unusual and lovely touch.