Kabocha Ghost Cake
かぼちゃのおばけケーキ
By Aoi, licensed nutritionist · From a Japanese preschool lunch menu
This is a Halloween treat from the preschool snack menu: a tender, naturally sweet cake made from mashed kabocha squash and pancake mix, with no butter and only a little sugar. Once baked, it is cut into pieces and each one gets a little ghost face drawn on with a simple cocoa sauce. Children love the surprise of seeing faces on their snack, and drawing them is an easy job for small helpers at home. The kabocha keeps the cake moist and gives it a lovely golden color without any food coloring.
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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 gmilk
- 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.
- 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 squash, cut it into roughly even pieces, boil until soft, and mash. Add the sugar, milk, and vegetable oil and mix well.
- 2
Add the pancake mix and fold in 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 powder, sugar, and hot water together to make a sauce. Cut the cake into pieces and draw a ghost face on each one with the cocoa sauce.
Nutrition
| Per | 1 serving | 1 adult serving | Your total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 250.5 kcal | 501 kcal | 250.5 kcal |
| Protein | 4.7 g | 9.3 g | 4.7 g |
| Fat | 10.4 g | 20.7 g | 10.4 g |
| Carbohydrates | 37.2 g | 74.4 g | 37.2 g |
| Fiber | 2.4 g | 4.8 g | 2.4 g |
| Salt equivalent | 0.3 g | 0.6 g | 0.3 g |
| Calcium | 73.5 mg | 147 mg | 73.5 mg |
| Iron | 0.8 mg | 1.5 mg | 0.8 mg |
| Potassium | 327 mg | 654 mg | 327 mg |
| Energy | Protein | Fat | Carbs | Fiber | Salt equiv. | Calcium | Iron | Potassium | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 serving | 250.5 kcal | 4.7 g | 10.4 g | 37.2 g | 2.4 g | 0.3 g | 73.5 mg | 0.8 mg | 327 mg |
| 1 adult serving | 501 kcal | 9.3 g | 20.7 g | 74.4 g | 4.8 g | 0.6 g | 147 mg | 1.5 mg | 654 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.
