Kabocha Ghost Cake (Milk-Free)
かぼちゃのおばけケーキ（乳なし）
By Aoi, licensed nutritionist · From a Japanese preschool lunch menu
These little ghost cakes are a favorite autumn snack in the preschool kitchen: a soft, golden kabocha cake, cut into pieces and given a friendly ghost face with a simple cocoa sauce. Kabocha squash is naturally sweet, so the batter needs only a little sugar, and mashing it into the mix keeps the cake moist. The recipe uses sweetened soy milk and oil in place of milk and butter, making it dairy-free (check your pancake mix label if that matters for your family). Kids love drawing the faces themselves, so save that last step for little hands.
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Ingredients
Amounts for 1 child (1 serving). An adult counts as 2 servings.
One serving here is 1.5× the portion served to a child in a Japanese preschool, sized for Western appetites. An adult counts as two servings. Tap an ingredient to check it off.
Ingredients
- 30 gkabocha squashSweet, dense Japanese pumpkin with dark green skin and orange flesh. Substitute: Butternut squash or another sweet winter squash.
- 30 gpancake mixJapanese 'hotcake mix' is a sweetened pancake mix of flour, sugar, and leavening, often used as a shortcut baking mix. Brands differ, and some contain milk or egg, so check the label if you are cooking for a food allergy. Substitute: Sweetened pancake mix, or self-rising flour plus about 2 tablespoons sugar per 100 g.
Seasonings
- 5.3 gsugar
- 30 gsweetened soy milk (Japanese chosei tonyu)Japanese 'prepared' soy milk that is lightly sweetened and flavored to taste milder than plain soy milk. Substitute: Regular (original, lightly sweetened) soy milk from the supermarket.
- 7.2 gvegetable oil
- 3 gunsweetened cocoa powder
- 0.8 gsugar
- 5.3 ghot water
About the Japanese ingredients in this recipe
- kabocha squash (かぼちゃ)
- Sweet, dense Japanese pumpkin with dark green skin and orange flesh. Substitute: Butternut squash or another sweet winter squash.
- sweetened soy milk (Japanese chosei tonyu) (調製豆乳)
- Japanese 'prepared' soy milk that is lightly sweetened and flavored to taste milder than plain soy milk. Substitute: Regular (original, lightly sweetened) soy milk from the supermarket.
- pancake mix (ホットケーキミックス)
- Japanese 'hotcake mix' is a sweetened pancake mix of flour, sugar, and leavening, often used as a shortcut baking mix. Brands differ, and some contain milk or egg, so check the label if you are cooking for a food allergy. Substitute: Sweetened pancake mix, or self-rising flour plus about 2 tablespoons sugar per 100 g.
Directions
- 1
Peel the kabocha, cut it into rough chunks, boil until tender, and mash. Add the sugar, soy milk and oil and mix well.
- 2
Add the pancake mix and fold gently until just combined.
- 3
Pour the batter into a loaf pan (or onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper) and bake in an oven preheated to 180°C (350°F) for about 30 minutes.
- 4
Mix the cocoa, sugar and hot water together to make a sauce. Cut the baked cake into pieces and draw ghost faces on them with the cocoa sauce.
Nutrition
| Per | 1 serving | 1 adult serving | Your total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 250.5 kcal | 501 kcal | 250.5 kcal |
| Protein | 4.5 g | 9 g | 4.5 g |
| Fat | 10.2 g | 20.4 g | 10.2 g |
| Carbohydrates | 37.2 g | 74.4 g | 37.2 g |
| Fiber | 2.7 g | 5.4 g | 2.7 g |
| Salt equivalent | 0.3 g | 0.6 g | 0.3 g |
| Calcium | 49.5 mg | 99 mg | 49.5 mg |
| Iron | 1 mg | 2.1 mg | 1 mg |
| Potassium | 333 mg | 666 mg | 333 mg |
| Energy | Protein | Fat | Carbs | Fiber | Salt equiv. | Calcium | Iron | Potassium | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 serving | 250.5 kcal | 4.5 g | 10.2 g | 37.2 g | 2.7 g | 0.3 g | 49.5 mg | 1 mg | 333 mg |
| 1 adult serving | 501 kcal | 9 g | 20.4 g | 74.4 g | 5.4 g | 0.6 g | 99 mg | 2.1 mg | 666 mg |
Values are per serving (1.5× the Japanese preschool portion); an adult serving is double. They were calculated by a licensed Japanese nutritionist using the Standard Tables of Food Composition in Japan. "Salt equivalent" is sodium × 2.54, the standard Japanese measure. Allergen flags cover egg, milk and wheat only and come from the nutritionist's records. Soy sauce and miso are made with wheat but are usually allowed on Japanese wheat-free school menus, so check with your doctor.
