Spiced Eggnog Cake with Rum Buttercream ~ TheCakeSliceBakers

This Spiced Eggnog Cake with Rum Buttercream is a festive, rich dessert that combines the comforting flavors of eggnog with the warmth of spices, and is topped with a decadent rum-infused buttercream.

Apple Cake with Sage Caramel ~ #TheCakeSliceBakers

“Fall has always been my favorite season. The time when everything bursts with its last beauty, as if nature had been saving up all year for the grand finale.” – Lauren DeStefano

Butternut Squash Chai Bundt Cake ~ #BundtBakers

Autumn is my favorite color.  The red, the gold, the orange a combine to
put on one of the greatest shows on earth.

Apple, Pear & Honey Cider Bundt Cake ~ #BundtBakers

Happy Fall, Y'all, that is the theme for this months #BundtBakers.  Fall, that magical time of year where the days start to get a little colder, the leaves turn to brilliant shades of red, orange, and yellow, and the Pumpkin Spice Latte is back.  The only one of these things that happens here in Hawaii is that yes indeed, Pumpkin Spice Lattes are back.

Apple Cranberry Crumble Bars ~ #CreativeCookieExchange

The October theme for #CreativeCookieExchange is Celebrate the season - Autumn, and we were asked to focus on seasonally appropriate ingredients for wherever you are for fall!

Spiced Pear-Cranberry Crumb Bars

I was trying to find something in my freezer this morning, and did a double-take when I realized how many bags of cranberries I still had leftover from last holiday season.  Since cranberry season is almost upon us it is definitely time for me to use up this supply so that I will have room for the next time I purchase excessive amounts of them - and I will because I have this overwhelming sense of fear that I will run out.

As luck would have it Chocolate, Chocolate, & More just happened to post a recipe link from Imperfect & Fabulous on Facebook recently that I thought would work perfectly with the addition of cranberries. I just love the tart-sweet combination of pears and cranberries.  Actually I am just a big fan of cranberries in general.

As I was making the filling the house began to smell like Thanksgiving, which was just fine with me since it is my favorite holiday of the year.  I didn't grow up celebrating Thanksgiving, and if we did it would have taken place around April/May since that is Fall for us. I celebrated it for the first time when I moved to Canada, and from that moment on I knew it would become a tradition no matter where I was living.

Pumpkin Friands

Fall is my favorite season, even though I do not get to experience the beautiful colors of the changing leaves were I live.  I know that I am very fortunate to have a tropical setting to live in, but looking at the beautiful fall colors always makes me a little wishful.  This is also my favorite time of year because I get to bake quite regularly with one of my favorite ingredients, pumpkin.

A few days ago I realized that I hadn't made friands in a long time. They are very popular in Australia, and you will find a version of them in almost every cafe.  They are a little like a muffin, but lighter. The main ingredients in a friand are almond meal, powdered sugar, flour, and egg whites, and chocolate or fruit is a popular additional flavoring.  Most friands are made in an oval-shaped friand pan.  However, you can easily substitute a muffins tin like I did - mine was square.

My choice of flavoring last time was raspberry and I used a recipe from an Australian cookbook.  I searched for a recipe that was pumpkin-flavored but could not find one, so used a basic recipe by Donna Hay and created my own.

Friands are such a nice treat to enjoy because they are not heavy, and the almond meal gives them a nice nutty flavor. As usual the hardest part is waiting for them to cool down so I can dust them with powdered sugar and enjoy them with a cup of coffee.  Next time I am going to make a double batch because 10 friands just don't last very long.



Pumpkin Friands
(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

• 1 cup almond meal
• 1⅔ cups powdered sugar, sifted
• 1 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, sifted
• 5 eggs whites
• 4½ oz butter, melted
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• powdered sugar to sift over the top

 
Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350℉ and grease 10 friand molds (alternatively, use regular muffin pans).
2. Place the almond meal, powdered sugar, flour, and baking powder in a bowl and whisk to combine.
3. Place egg whites in a bowl and and whisk until slightly frothy. Add butter and pumpkin and whisk to combine.
4. Add the liquid to the dry ingredients and beat until combined.
5. Spoon the mixture into prepared pans and bake for 20–25 minutes or until the friands are golden and cooked through.
6. Using a knife, loosen the edges and remove the friands from the tins immediately.
7. Allow to cool on a wire rack before serving. 
8. Dust with powdered sugar.

Makes 10.

Recipe by All That's Left Are The Crumbs (adapted from a recipe by Donna Hay).