Martha Monday: Ginger Pumpkin Bread

Let the ubiquitous pumpkin recipes begin!! I have to confess that I'm a complete sucker for all things pumpkin. My favorite holiday is Halloween, and I can't get enough of the pumpkin spiced lattes, ice creams, pancakes, breads, pies and everything else that abound this time of year.

Like zucchini and banana breads, you might think that's there's not really much that can be done to revamp the traditional pumpkin bread. However, this might actually be my favorite pumpkin bread, and my new go-to recipe. I was somewhat surprised because, being a Martha recipe, it's actually surprisingly easy. For example, you don't need to peel, seed, and roast your own pumpkin. Who has time for that? Nope, this recipe just calls for scooping out pre-pureed pumpkin from a glorious can. Also, I love that this recipe isn't overly sweet. I'm used to pumpkin breads that essentially taste like pumpkin pie, but this loaf isn't overwhelmed with cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and allspice--but only a slightly spicy hint of ginger that complements the pumpkin perfectly.

Ginger Pumpkin Bread
     from Martha Stewart
     makes 2 loaves

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, plus room-temperature butter for pan
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree (1 3/4 cups)
3 large eggs

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter and flour two 8 1/2-by-4 1/2-inch (6-cup) loaf pans; set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, ginger, and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together sugars, pumpkin, melted butter, and eggs; add flour mixture, and stir until just combined.

2. Divide batter between prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in center of loaves comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes; invert pans and transfer loaves to a wire rack to cool completely. Glaze, if desired.

Sugar Glaze
1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar

1. In a small bowl, mix confectioners' sugar with 2 to 3 tablespoons water until mixture is smooth but thick. Place waxed paper under rack for a quick cleanup. For easy pouring, transfer glaze to a liquid-measuring cup, and drizzle over loaves. Let dry 15 minutes before serving. Makes enough for 2 loaves.

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Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes aka When Blogs Collide

Writing a baking blog, I always get a thrill when friends regale me with tales of their baking exploits, which usually start out more often than not with something along the lines of, "I followed the recipe exactly! I don't know what happened!" I know baking can be intimidating, so I always encourage novice bakers to just take the plunge, and was more than excited when a friend and fellow blogger asked for my help tackling Hummingbird Bakery's pumpkin spice cupcakes and cream cheese frosting.

Unfortunately, I'm afraid I might not have been much help on this one.  Between needing to find a converted recipe from the original metric instructions, attempting to double it, realizing halfway through that one of the directions had clearly been omitted in the cookbook, and mangling a hand mixer beyond repair...well, as I've said before, let's just say that sometimes you really can be a lot less exact in your baking and still end up with a delicious end product.  Because these cupcakes were GREAT! Super moist and delicious, these cakes were definitely a hit.

Check out the recipe, more on Hummingbird, and Tanya's take on the international flavor of Halloween here at Parisian Spring.

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Oh Fudge

In a similar vein as whoopie pies, fudge may not be the most glamorous of desserts, but it's definitely one of those homespun standards that always manages to make it onto the dessert side of the table at family potlucks and always manages to disappear--piece by addictive piece. 

While this recipe for Spiced Pumpkin Fudge from Libby's is not exactly difficult, it IS time consuming.  The first step requires you to heat sugar to soft-ball stage (234-240 degrees, you will need a candy thermometer or the good old bowl-of-water test) while constantly stirring...and stirring...and stirring.  If your arm is cramping up and you're starting to sweat from the heat of a pot of boiling sugar, you're on the right track...keep stirring.  Before you get started you may want to crank up some tunes and crack open a bottle of pumpkin ale to help pass the time.  That's what helped me at least :) 

I do have a sneaking suspicion that the refusal of the sugar to reach soft-ball stage in a reasonable amount of time may have something to due with the fact that I had to use dark brown sugar instead of light brown sugar.  Oops.  But I'd love to hear about your experience it if anyone else gives this recipe a try!  The fudge was still delicious even though I finally threw in the towel (the spoon?) while the sugar was still only at 220 degrees.  Shh, don't tell.

Spiced Pumpkin Fudge
2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup packed light brown sugar

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter or margarine

2/3 cup (5 fl.-oz. can) evaporated milk

1/2 cup pumpkin

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) white chocolate morsels

1 jar (7 oz.) marshmallow crème

1 cup chopped pecans

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Line a 13 x 9-inch baking pan with foil. 

2. Combine sugar, brown sugar, evaporated milk, pumpkin, butter and spice in a medium, heavy-duty saucepan. Bring to a full rolling boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil, stirring constantly, for 10 to 12 minutes or until candy thermometer reaches 234° to 240º F (soft-ball stage).

3. Quickly stir in morsels, marshmallow crème, nuts and vanilla extract. Stir vigorously for 1 minute or until morsels are melted. Immediately pour into prepared pan. Let stand on wire rack for 2 hours or until completely cooled. Refrigerate tightly covered. To cut, lift from pan; remove foil. Cut into 1-inch pieces. Makes about 3 pounds.

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Making Whoopie

Forgive the title; I couldn't help myself. 

With pumpkin spice season fully upon us, I couldn't wait to try out Martha Stewart's mini chocolate and pumpkin whoopie pies for a festive fall pumpkin carving party.  At first I thought it might be a little sadistic to bring pumpkin snacks to a pumpkin carving...but I got over it.

Although whoopie pies seem to be enjoying a surge in popularity recently--some even suggesting they are "the new cupcake"--I was shocked to discover how many of my friends had actually never even heard of whoopie pies.  "You're making pumpkin WHAT?" was the typical response.

If you are a whoopie novice, probably the best way to describe them is similar in concept to an oatmeal cream pie, but with cake instead of oatmeal cookies.  Some may try to tell you that a whoopie pie is a Moon Pie. They are NOT Moon Pies.  If you're getting technical, Moon Pies are commercial sandwiches of graham cookie and marshmallow creme dipped in chocolate whereas the whoopie is all cake and frosting.  I'd like to say that these whoopie pies were a total hit at the party, but there may have been an unfortunate forgetting-them-in-the-fridge incident.  Oops.  But *I* can tell you that they were delicious...I had about 6 of them.  Oops. 

For residents of the DMV, whoopies have officially invaded the area--get your fix from B. Hall, an area baker specializing exclusively in whoopie pies or also from pop-up baker Whoops! Bakeshop currently hawking pies at Mid City Caffe until hopefully opening a storefront next year.

A couple of notes: 1)  if you're using a dark metal pan you may want to reduce your oven temp. 2) Try to flatten your batter rounds a little bit as they tend to bake up rather than out. 3) These are MINI whoopie pies, people, so portion control on the batter.  Believe me, I know it's hard.  Or you could just get this whoopie pie pan from Williams-Sonoma.

Mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

  makes about 20 sandwiches

Cookies:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-process)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon coarse salt

1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened

1/4 cup vegetable shortening

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar

1 large egg

1 cup whole milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Filling:

4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

1/4 cup canned solid pack pumpkin

Pinch of cinnamon

Pinch of nutmeg

1. Prepare cookies: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl; set aside.

2. Place butter, shortening, and sugars into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on high speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add egg; mix until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Mix in half the flour mixture, then the milk and vanilla. Mix in remaining flour mixture.

3. Drop about 2 teaspoons dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies spring back when lightly touched, 12 to 14 minutes. Transfer baking sheets to wire racks and let cool 10 minutes. Remove cookies from baking sheets and transfer to wire racks using a spatula; let cool completely.

4. Prepare filling: In the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, whip together cream cheese, butter and confectioners' sugar on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Add pumpkin, cinnamon, and nutmeg; whip until smooth, scraping down the bowl as necessary.

5. Pipe or spoon about 2 teaspoons filling on the flat sides of half the cookies. Sandwich with remaining cookies, keeping the flat sides down.

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Cheesecake On The Half-Shell

"What is that?"

"Pumpkin Turtle Cheesecake."

"But what does that mean?"

"It's cheesecake you serve on the half-shell, duh."

"..."

"Juuuust kidding."

Though this recipe is actually called "Pumpkin Praline Cheesecake," I wasn't able to make the tasty pecan praline powder called for in the recipe that dusts the top of the cheesecake because I don't have a food processor (that's right people, I don't even own a blender). So, instead, I reached for my trusty go-to jar of caramel sauce, mixed a dollop in a bowl with pecan halves and used that to set off the layer of sweetened sour cream below and voila: Pumpkin Turtle Cheesecake. Or, as I've been calling it, Teenage Mutant Ninja Pumpkin Turtle Cheesecake.

Just as the term "Black Forest" is often applied to about any combination of chocolate and cherry, "turtle" has come to symbolize the delicious mixture of caramel and pecans. This is undoubtedly due to Nestle's Turtle candies, first produced by the Rowntree DeMet company in the 1920s, and made from simply caramel and pecan halves before being dipped in chocolate. The story goes that a DeMet's employee commented that the new candies looked surprisingly like turtles and the rest is history. Who knows.

All I know is that, if I've done my job, you'll now have the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' theme song in your head :) But, believe me, this cheesecake is so good that your friends probably won't even mind that you're singing it to them as you serve up the slices.

Pumpkin Praline Cheesecake
1/3 cup butter
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup flour
3 8-oz pkgs cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tbs flour
1 15-oz can pumpkin
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
3 eggs
1 8-oz container sour cream
1 Tbs granulated sugar
Pecan halves (optional)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans

1. For Pecan-Praline Pieces and Powder, line a large baking sheet with foil and set aside. In a heavy skillet place the 1/2 cup granulated sugar, cook over medium-high heat, shaking skillet occasionally until sugar begins to melt. Do not stir. Reduce heat to low and stir in the chopped pecans; cook about 3 minutes more or until sugar is golden brown and pecans are toasted, stirring occasionally. Pour the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet, spreading with a wooden spoon as thin as possible. Cool. Break or chop the cooled praline into 1/4-inch pieces and set half of it aside. For Pecan-Praline Powder, place remaining broken pieces in a blender container or food processor bowl. Cover and blend or process until ground. Store in separate containers in refrigerator or freezer up to 1 week.

2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. For crust, in a medium mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed about 30 seconds or until softened. Add the 1/4 cup brown sugar and beat until fluffy. Add the 1 cup flour. Beat on low to medium speed just until combined.

3. Pat dough onto bottom and 1-1/2 inches up the side of 9-inch springform pan. Bake for about 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool crust on a wire rack while preparing filling.

4. For filling, in a large mixing bowl beat cream cheese, the 3/4 cup brown sugar, and the 2 tablespoons flour with an electric mixer on a medium to high speed until combined. Add the pumpkin, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. Beat until combined. Add eggs all at once. Beat on low speed just until combined. Stir in the coarsely broken pecan-praline pieces, reserving the powder for the topping.

5. Pour filling into the crust-lined springform pan. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until center appears nearly set when shaken.

6. In a small bowl combine sour cream and granulated sugar. Spread over top of cheesecake.

7. Cool cheesecake in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Use a small metal spatula to loosen crust from sides of pan. Cool 30 minutes more. Remove side of the springform pan. Cool for 1 hour. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours.

8. Just before serving, sprinkle the Pecan-Praline Powder over sour cream topping in center of cheesecake and garnish with pecan halves, if desired.

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Pumpkin Crème de la Crème

And now, let the pumpkin posts continue! As promised, the fall parade of pumpkin spice recipes marches on even though we're now in that odd pumpkin limbo time between Halloween pumpkin-themed recipes and Thanksgiving pumpkin-themed recipes. Oh well, clearly I'm not concerned. I recently managed to get my hands on two more coveted cans of pumpkin and couldn't wait to use one for this Pumpkin Crème Caramel.

If you haven't had the pleasure of enjoying crème caramel before, the texture is very similar to a flan or custard, but it also comes with a built in bonus layer of delicious caramel sauce. The seasonal addition of pumpkin pie spice really adds warmth and blends perfectly with the creamy caramel. I'd also even recommend this as an alternative for friends or family that usually don't like pumpkin pie because it is much less sweet than pumpkin pie and the texture is also more dense. I'm actually completely guessing that these might be reasons people don't like pumpkin pie because, frankly, I find it incredulous that these people even exist.

Also don't be intimidated by the pomegranate seeds used as garnish. If you've never used a pomegranate before, let this be your first opportunity. Since this was my first time trying pomegranates I was similarly terrified to tackle what some believe was the true "forbidden fruit" and now I'm addicted to the tangy-sweet seeds. Food blogger Gimme Some Oven has a great tutorial on how to open and seed your pomegranate completely mess-free and, I mean, Web MD tells us that pomegranates are a major superfruit so really, what are you waiting for? You may be consuming the equivalent of 6 eggs, but you might as well fight free radicals with the power of antioxidants at the same time, right? Right.

Note: You can also modify this recipe by preparing it in two pie plates as opposed to individual custard cups if you prefer.

Pumpkin Crème Caramel
serves 8
1 1/3 cup sugar
6 eggs, beaten
2 5-oz cans evaporated milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp finely shredded orange peel
2 tsp vanilla
pomegranate seeds (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2. To caramelize the sugar, melt the 1 1/3 cups sugar in a heavy-bottomed skillet over med-high heat, shaking the skillet occasionally. When the sugar starts to melt, reduce heat to low. Cook, stirring frequently, until sugar is golden brown. Remove skillet from heat; immediately pour sugar into eight ungreased, 6-oz custard cups. Quickly tilt to evenly coat bottom of cups.

3. Place cups in two 2-quart baking dishes. Whisk together eggs, pumpkin, evaporated milk, the 1/2 cup sugar, pumpkin pie spice and vanilla in a large mixing bowl. Pour the pumpkin mix over the caramelized sugar. Place the baking dishes on the oven rack. Pour boiling water into the baking dishes to a depth of 1".

4. Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until a knife inserted near the centers comes out clean. Remove cups from water. Cool slightly on a wire rack. Cover and chill for 4 to 24 hours.

5. To serve, loosen edges of custards with a knife. Invert a dessert plate over each custard, turn cup and plate over together. Scrape any remaining caramel that remains in the cup onto the custard. Garnish with pomegranate seeds, if desired.

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Liberty and Pumpkin Mousse For All!

America has hit a new low. This year, many Americans will not be able to receive the basic products that they have come to rely upon year after year. Services they have come to take for granted will be in short supply. This Thanksgiving, many children may go without. No, I'm not talking about health care. I'm talking about the Great American Canned Pumpkin Shortage of 2009.

When I first heard rumors of a shortage, I scoffed. "Ha!" I said. It seemed inconceivable that something as traditionally American as pumpkin pie might be hard to come by at Thanksgiving. But I'm not laughing now. Week after week I've gone to several local supermarkets only to come face to face with an empty shelf where the canned pumpkin pie filling should be (to the right of the fruit pie fillings, and just underneath the instant pudding). It seems that, due to bad weather, many of last year's pumpkins were deemed "unacceptable" and now we're feeling the pinch. To make matters worse, the Libby company has placed supermarkets on a quota system in an attempt share the wealth. Clearly, it is not working. While my mother assures me that there is still plenty of pumpkin to be had at her regular grocery store in Ohio, my recommendation to you would be to BUY! BUY NOW!! if you happen to come across any cans and think you'll need them later in the season.

While Libby is assuring customers that more cans are coming, in the meantime I'm hedging my bets. It seems that cans of plain pumpkin are a little easier to come by so, of course, I bought the last two 30-oz cans I could find. By adding sugar and spices to the plain pumpkin, you can essentially make your own pumpkin pie filling. I plan to freeze this in small batches to use for future recipes and hopefully stretch my supply until the pumpkin drought is over. For the pumpkin mousse below, I've included the recipe as-written to include pre-mixed pie filling, but I'll also include my recipe for adding your own sugar and spice below in case you're unfortunately in the same pumpkin-less boat as me. Of course, if you're feeling adventurous, you can always bake your own pumpkin, scoop out the flesh, process in a blender and substitute for canned. Let me know how that goes :)

Pumpkin Mousse in Cinnamon Pastry Shells

2 boxes (10 oz each) frozen puff pastry shells

3 Tbs melted butter
Cinnamon sugar
(1 Tbs sugar, 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon)
1 can (30 oz) pumpkin pie filling (not plain)
1 box (3.4 oz) vanilla instant pudding and pie mix
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup whipped topping, thawed

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2. Place pastry shells on a baking sheet. Brush tops with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. Bake according to package directions. Cool to room temperature. Remove tops and reserve for garnish. Remove soft pastry inside shells and discard.

3. Beat pumpkin pie mix, pudding mix and cinnamon in large mixing bowl on medium speed for 2 minutes. Gently fold in whipped topping. Spoon or pipe about 1/3 cup pumpkin mousse into each pastry shell. Top with pastry tops, dust with cinnamon or drizzle with caramel if desired. Serve immediately.

Pumpkin Pie Filling Mix

For each 30-oz can of pumpkin add:
2 cups granulated sugar or light brown sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground ginger Stir thoroughly to combine and freeze in 1 cup portions. Makes 4 1-cup servings or enough for 1 pie.

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Country Pumpkin

I absolutely love fall. Let me rephrase that. I absolutely love fall while it is still sunny and above 60 degrees outside. One of the best things about my recent travels was getting to enjoy my sightseeing while still graced with the lovely sunshine and warm temps of a lingering summer across the Continent. But no sooner had I touched down back at Dulles airport and emerged bleary-eyed from the baggage claim was I greeted with the undeniable proof that fall had arrived during my absence; the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte had returned.

I have a sneaking suspicion that the true reason I love fall is that, in fact, I love all things "spice." Pumpkin spice. Apple spice. Gingerbread spice. You name it, I can't wait for the excuse of cooler temps to tuck into a warm bowl of anything-spice-with-caramel-on-top. I don't know why there are certain flavors that we come to associate with specific seasons of the year, but I also don't ask too many questions before stocking up on jars of cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and allspice that herald the return of the holiday season.

Thus, I apologize in advance for what is sure to be an inundation of pumpkin spice recipes over the next three months, as I've already come across several pumpkin-themed custards, bread puddings, cheesecakes and candies that I can't wait to try. If you get spiced out, just check back with me in the New Year when I'm sure to have returned to my senses :) And, to kick it all off, I bring you Pumpkin Chocolate Brownies! The title of this recipe is a little misleading, as the "brownies" are really more of a cake or quick bread texture in the shape of brownies, but they are delicious nonetheless. Also a note, these will turn out just as well if you accidentally buy a can of pumpkin pie mix (which already includes some spices) instead of plain pumpkin. I mean, not like I would ever do anything like that but...uhh...you know, just in case you were wondering.... (Whoops!)
Pumpkin Chocolate Brownies
makes 16

1/2 canned pure pumpkin
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
2 egg whites
2 Tbs vegetable oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray 8- or 9-inch-square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Combine pumpkin, sugar, egg, egg whites and oil in large mixer bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until blended. Add flour, baking powder, cocoa, cinnamon, allspice, salt and nutmeg. Beat on low speed until batter is smooth. Stir in chocolate chips. Spread evenly into prepared pan.

3. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until wooden pick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack. Cut into 2-inch squares.

*I also doubled this recipe and baked in two pans

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