Butternut squash and vanilla jam, and some cupcakes.

Just a quick post to pass on the remaining recipes for the gifts I took to the Ndali gift swap. The butternut squash and vanilla jam is very sweet at first and then the lemon kicks in. Best on toast for breakfast. The cupcakes are, well, cupcakes, but they do look great cooked in the cone.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH & VANILLA JAM

 

900g butternut squash flesh

1 vanilla bean

4 3/4 cups sugar

juice of 2 lemons

large preserving pan

jam thermometer

• Place the butternut squash in a pan with just enough water to stop it from catching, and cook over a moderate heat for 10-15 minutes until it is cooked through but still retains its shape.  Drain off any excess juices, and when the squash is cool enough to handle, chop it into finer pieces.
• Slice the vanilla bean in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds with the blade of a knife.  Place the squash, sugar, and lemon juice in a bowl, tuck the vanilla bean pieces in among the pumpkin, and add the seeds.  Cover with a piece of cling film pushed down onto the surface and leave overnight.
• The next day, pour the contents of the bowl into a preserving pan and stir over a low heat until all the sugar has dissolved, then turn up the heat and boil rapidly to reach jam setting point.
• Pour hot jam into hot sterilized jars.

The vanilla ice cream cupcakes are a version of the Mr Whippy cupcakes I made earlier in the life of Mintcustard. I replaced the flakes this time with the scraped vanill pod husks. The aroma when the cake box opened was so good!

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