As the official family cake-maker, the only way I’ve ever had a decent vegan birthday cake in the past is to make it myself . But this birthday I had a lovely treat – my son Mitch and my darling hubby made the cake, and Imogen decorated it. They used Dr Fuhrman’s Hawaiian Pineapple Cake recipe. My daughter Imogen reserved some of the icing and blended it with frozen raspberries to pipe ‘Happy Birthday’.

Ingredients:

2 cups wholemeal flour (we always use spelt)
1 cup date sugar
1 1/2 tsp bicarb soda
1 cup steamed and mashed pumpkin
240 g  can crushed pineapple packed in own juice, undrained
1/2 cup pineapple or orange juice
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

Cashew Icing

1 1/3 cups raw cashews
1 cup oat milk
1/2 cup dates, pitted

Method:

Preheat oven to 180°C.

Combine the flour, date sugar and bicarb soda, and stir to mix well.

Stir in the pumpkin, crushed pineapple, including the juice, and the pineapple or orange juice, vanilla extract and walnuts.

Line a large square cake tin with baking paper. Spread the batter evenly in the pan and bake for 35 minutes, or just until a wooden toothpick inserted in cake comes out clean.

Icing

Blend the nuts to a fine meal, then add the oat milk and dates and blend until smooth and creamy.

When cake is done, remove from oven and let cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then invert cake onto the cooling rack. When completely cool, carefully move cake to a flat dish and spread cashew icing on top and sides.