Spiced Pumpkin Ravioli Dessert

Preheat oven to 200ºC (400ºF).

For the pumpkin-spiced filling, put butternut squash in a bowl along with vegetable oil, a pinch of nutmeg, a pinch of cinnamon and a pinch of salt (no pepper). Mix until squash is coated in oil and seasonings. Put squash on a tray lined with baking paper, making sure squash is all nice and spread out. Roast in oven for 30 minutes.

For the dough, pour flour onto a flat, clean surface and then use your hands to make a well. Crack 2 eggs into the well. Also add a pinch of nutmeg, a pinch of cinnamon and a pinch of salt. Slowly incorporate flour into egg as you mix it through.

Once egg and flour come together in a rough mess, firmly press everything together. Start kneading the dough, kneading for about 5–10 minutes until smooth and pliable. Cut dough in half, wrap both halves in cling wrap and then rest in the fridge for 20 minutes.

Once pumpkin is cooked, transfer into a food processor with icing sugar and cream, then blitz for a minute or 2 until you have a nice smooth puree. Transfer pumpkin filling to a bowl or container, cover with cling film and then refrigerate.

Set up a pasta machine, with plenty of flour for dusting. Get both halves of pasta dough out of the fridge. Unwrap dough, dust with flour, then dust rollers in machine. Roll dough through thickest setting of pasta machine a couple of times, then dust dough and rollers again. Roll dough through second thickest setting a couple of times. Repeat this cycle until pasta dough is thin but not too thin. (My pasta roller’s thickest setting is 1 and the thinnest is 9. I stopped rolling my dough at about 5-6. Make sure you keep dusting with flour so nothing sticks and when the dough gets too long to handle, cut it in half.)

Once you have finished rolling the first half of dough, lay it out flat on a clean surface then cover with a piece of cling film or clean tea towels so it doesn’t try out. Then roll the remaining half of dough.

Use a pastry cutter (I used a circle pastry cutter that had a 6-7cm diameter) to cut circles out of pasta, leaving as little space between each cut as possible. Spoon about 1 teaspoon of pumpkin spice mix onto half of pasta disks.

Use a pastry brush to brush the egg wash on the edges of your pasta. Then lay the other pasta disks over the top. Pinch edges so pumpkin mixture is firmly sealed in.

Use clean paintbrush to lightly dab red food colouring on the ravioli to get a blood effect. Set ravioli aside and again, cover to prevent it from frying out.

Put 5 liters water and 2 teaspoons of salt in a pot then bring to a boil. Add ravioli. Boil for about 2 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to take them out.

For the spiced crème Anglaise, whisk sugar and egg yolks in a large bowl until pale in colour.

Put milk, vanilla, cardamom pods, star anise, nutmeg and cinnamon in a pot. Put pot over high heat and scald milk (turn heat off as soon as it starts to boil). Let spices infuse in the milk for 1–2 minutes.

Whisk egg yolk mixture while slowly pouring in the hot infused milk. Once all milk is incorporated, put custard mixture back in the pot.

Heat the crème anglaise over low heat while continuously stirring. After about 5–10 minutes, the crème anglaise should be thick enough to coat the back of the spoon. Use a sieve to strain the crème anglaise in a bowl. Sauce is ready for dipping.

This dessert is served best warm so you can use a slotted spoon to plunge the ravioli back into hot water for 10 seconds before serving. You can also heat creme anglaise in a bowl over a water bath very lightly so it’s just warm.