Sweet Butternut Squash Bread With Chocolate And Walnut Brittle - cooking recipe

Ingredients

150 g walnuts, coarsely chopped
200 g dried figs, chopped
3 tbsp orange juice
500 g butter, softened
200 g caster sugar + 3 tbsp
1 tsp vanilla essence
5 medium eggs
325 g plain flour
3 heaped tsp baking powder
100 g ground almonds
600 g butternut squash, peeled and grated
150 g double cream
25 g coconut oil
150 g dark chocolate

Preparation

Heat oven to 350\u00b0F. Mix 1 cup walnuts with the figs and orange juice. In a bowl, whisk together the butter, 1 cup sugar, vanilla extract and a pinch of salt until creamy then stir in the eggs one at a time.
Fold in the flour, baking powder and almonds then stir in the shredded squash and the walnut and fig mixture. Transfer to a greased and floured 12 inch loaf pan and bake for about 75 minutes. Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan before turning out on a wire rack.
To make the brittle, heat 3 tbsp sugar in a frying pan, add the remaining walnuts, allow to caramelize for a minute then pour out onto a baking sheet lined with lightly greased foil. Spread out and leave to harden.
Heat cream and coconut oil in a pan, remove from the heat and stir in the chocolate until melted. Spread evenly over the cooled cake then chop the walnut brittle and sprinkle over the top. Leave to set for about 2 hours then serve.