I rise to the challenge...

I was incredibly fortunate in that, the very week the pumpkin challenge had been set, I discovered this little beauty growing in our garden, already shrink-wrapped and just begging to become the star of our blog:




You can, of course, imagine my delight, but just in case you can't quite visualize that image:




So I began to ponder Gem's challenge to "get creative". Now, with her artistic background, I had no doubt Gem was ensconced in thoughts of abstract expressionism, cubism, the technique of screen printing, heck, possibly even finger painting. But there was something else creative I knew could be done with a pumpkin, that would satisfy a passion we both share: eating. The result: pumpkin and ginger cupcakes...



These little beauties are all set to become the centrepiece of my cupcake-and-champagne birthday on the beach tomorrow. All in all, a most satisfying resolution to the challenge. And in case you want to recreate this recipe at home, here's the link:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2009/oct/24/pumpkin-ginger-cupcakes-baking-dan-lepard/print

Ali x