THAT TIME of year is among us once again, Hallowe’en!

This means many of us will be taking part in the traditions which surround the festival, including carving pumpkins.

The internet is awash with ideas for the best pumpkin carvings and tips and the local supermarkets will be packed with pumpkins of all sizes ready to be scooped, carved and then lit up to show them off.

But what about the pumpkin flesh and seeds?

Rather than wasting it, why not try the recipe I am sharing with you this month, where you can use your surplus pumpkin to make a tasty cake?

You could even serve the cake at your Hallowe’en party or just have it as a tasty dessert, suitable for all the family.

A carved pumpkin, or a jack-o'-lantern as it is also known, is a carved pumpkin, or turnip, associated with the holiday of Halloween and named after the phenomenon of strange light flickering over peat bogs, called will-o'-the-wisp.

In a jack-o'-lantern, the top is cut off to form a lid and the inside flesh then scooped out; an image, usually a monstrous or comical face, is carved out of the pumpkin's rind to expose the hollow interior.

To create the lantern effect, a light source (such as a candle, tea light or torch) is placed within before the lid is closed.

In the UK it is now fairly common to see jack-o'-lanterns on doorsteps and otherwise used as decorations prior to and during Halloween.

History wise, the origin of the custom of jack-o'-lantern carving is uncertain.

The carving of vegetables has been a common practice in many parts of the world, with gourds being the earliest plant species domesticated by humans 10,000 years ago, primarily for their carving potential!

Gourds were used to carve lanterns by the Maori over 700 years ago, with the Maori word for a gourd also used to describe a lampshade.

There is a common belief that the custom of carving jack-o'-lanterns at Hallowe'en originated in Ireland, where turnips or beets were supposedly used.

Personally, I really like eating and baking with pumpkin. It’s one of the widely grown vegetables incredibly rich in vital antioxidants, and vitamins.

But what do you actually do with them, aside from admire their cheery, bright orange presence on your doorstep or window?

Well, you can actually cook pumpkin and make it into all kinds of wonderful treats, from pie and scones to muffins, bread and soup.

Pumpkin is incredibly versatile. Almost all the parts of the pumpkin plant; fruit, leaves, flowers and seeds, are edible, but in order to prepare the pumpkin cut it in half and discard the stem section and stringy pulp. Save the seeds to dry and roast.

In a shallow baking dish, place the two halves face down and cover with foil. Then bake in a preheated 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) oven for about 90 minutes hours for a medium-sized sugar pumpkin, or until tender.

Once the baked pumpkin has cooled, scoop out the flesh and puree or mash it.