Mini pumpkin tarts

Makes 20

Mini pumpkin tarts (Jason Lowe)

Try to find a ripe orange-fleshed pumpkin, but if you can't then you can always use a butternut squash instead – the butternut variety tend to be more consistent in terms of their flavour and ripeness.

You can buy these great little canapé cups in good supermarkets and delis which makes life quick and simple for cocktail parties.

20 mini canapé pastry cases
40 or so pumpkin seeds, lightly toasted and dusted with icing sugar

For the filling

500g orange-fleshed, ripe pumpkin, or butternut squash, peeled, seeded and cut into rough chunks
tsp ground cinnamon
tsp mixed spice
A good knob of butter
100 ml double cream
80g golden syrup

Preheat the oven to 190C/gas mark 5. Put the pieces of pumpkin in a roasting tray with the cinnamon and mixed spice and the butter.

Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes until soft, giving the occasional stir. Take out, drain and cool in a colander. Blend the pumpkin in a liquidiser or food processor until smooth.

Bring the cream to the boil, mix with the golden syrup and leave to cool, then mix with the pumpkin.

Spoon the pumpkin mix into the tart cases up to the top and bake for about8-10 minutes until the filling has just set. Serve warm with pumpkin seeds on each.