Oven-baked pumpkin fritters with caramel sauce

Drizzle the pumpkin fritters with the caramel sauce or simply roll them in cinnamon sugar. The fritters on their own are not very sweet.

Makes about 18 fritters Preparation: 20 minutes Cooking time: 15 minutes Oven temperature: 180°C

• 500ml mashed cooked pumpkin • 30ml sugar

• 325ml cake flour

• 10ml baking powder

• 2 eggs, beaten

• a pinch of salt

CARAMEL SAUCE

• 30ml butter

• 125ml light brown sugar • 250ml milk, plus 15ml extra • 5ml vanilla essence

• 10ml cornflour

1 Preheat the oven and spray a shallow muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray (our pan had cute star shapes).

2 Place all the ingredients for the fritters in a large measuring jug and process with a stick blender until smooth. Divide the batter between the cavities of your muffin pan (you may need to bake twice if you only have one pan, as the recipe makes 18 fritters) and bake for about 15 minutes or until cooked and risen. Repeat with any leftover batter.

3 Make the sauce Stir the butter and sugar together in a small saucepan over moderate heat until the sugar has melted. Stir for a few more minutes until the sauce becomes caramel-coloured. Carefully stir in the milk and vanilla (if crystals have formed again, stir until dissolved). Mix the cornflour with the extra 15ml milk until smooth, then add to the sauce. Cook until the sauce thickens and you no longer taste raw cornflour.

Pour into a jug, ready to serve.