Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake ~ #TheCakeSliceBakers

Advice from a pumpkin - be well-rounded, get plenty of sunshine, have thick skin, keep growing, be outstanding in your field, think big, make spiced pumpkin cheesecake.

Pumpkin Spice Latte Pull Apart Bread ~ #BreadBakers

Pull Apart breads are the perfect bread for sharing - fair warning, you probably should make two as these breads have a habit of disappearing before your very eyes.

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.

Hazelnut Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies ~ #Creative Cookie Exchange

Sometimes me think, “What is Friend?” Then me say, “Friend is someone to share the last cookie with.” - The Cookie Monster.

These gluten-free Hazelnut Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies are definitely share-worthy.

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).

Creamy Sweet Potato, Pumpkin, and Apple Soup

In all honesty it really doesn't get cold enough here to be true soup weather.  That doesn't stop me from craving soup every now and again, especially on a rainy night.  Soup is one of those dishes that just screams comfort to me.  One of my favorites is pumpkin soup, but I decided to add a few different ingredients into my regular recipe.


Roasting pumpkin, sweet potato, and apple just brings out all of their yummy goodness.  Once these vegetables have been roasted this soup comes together very quickly.  That drizzle of honey and sprigs of rosemary add that something special to the soup.  Actually honey and rosemary together have become one of my favorite combinations.  Both ingredients have health benefits too so I am happy to use them whenever I can.  Honey has been proven to energize the body, boost immunity, fight bacteria, promote healing of cuts and burns, and help heal sore throats.  I remember my Home Economics teacher telling the class that if we could keep honey in our throats permanently we would never suffer from a sore throat.  Research has shown that rosemary contains anti-inflammatory compounds that may make it useful for reducing the severity of asthma attacks and substances that are useful for stimulating the immune system, increasing circulation, and improving digestion. Also, rosemary has been shown to increase the blood flow to the head and brain, therefore improving concentration.  I think I will go and pick a branch a day to test out the last fact.



It also freezes well, but make sure that you do not add the cream prior to freezing as it tends to curdle the mixture after you thaw it.  I find that if you thaw it out, gently reheat, and then add the cream it works like a charm.  I love serving this with a little Greek yogurt on top and some crusty bread.  I have also added coconut milk rather than cream to my regular pumpkin soup, and I bet it would taste great in this soup too.

Creamy Sweet Potato, Pumpkin, and Apple Soup©

(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

• 1 butternut pumpkin (about 2 lbs), chopped into cubes
• 3 Granny Smith apples, peeled and chopped into cubes
• 2 sweet potatoes, chopped into cubes
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 onion, diced
• 3 tablespoon olive oil, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 6 cups vegetable broth
• 1/2 cup cream (or half & half)
• 1/2 cups water (or more depending on desired consistency)
• sour cream or Greek yogurt

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 400°F.
2. Pour 2 tablespoon olive oil in a roasting pan and add sweet potato, pumpkin, and apple in a roasting pan.
3. Drizzle honey over top and toss to coat. 
4. Add sprigs of rosemary, salt, and pepper and roast for approximately 30 minutes.  Toss the mixture, and then continue roasting for another 10-15 minutes, or until tender.
5. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to a soup pot and saute the onion until translucent. 
6. Remove rosemary sprigs and add roasted vegetables and stock and bring to a gentle boil.
7. Remove from heat and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.
8. Puree the mixture in a blender or food processor.
9. Return pot to a gentle heat and add cream, nutmeg, and water. 
10. Check seasoning and serve with a little sour cream or Greek yogurt on top.

Makes approximately 10 cups.

Recipe by All That's Left Are The Crumbs.

Pumpkin Joy

What you call squash in the US, I still call pumpkin most of the time.  Even after all these years I still revert back to calling it pumpkin.  I don't know why because I manage quite well with baking soda, self-rising flour, and cornstarch.  It doesn't matter because either way it is one of my favorite fruits.  No, that is not a typo.  Did you know that butternut squash is actually a fruit?  Though considered a vegetable in cooking, botanically speaking, squash is a fruit.


I recently discovered a blog by Michael called Verses From My Kitchen.  I have found that since I discovered it that I just keep bookmarking more and more recipes, for example Puréed Squash and Pear Soup,  Blackberry and Pear Crumble, and Chocolate Crinkles with Sambuca and Coffee Extract.  He also has a cool gadget on the side with his iPod playlist that plays when you load the page.   I have to get these songs.  I totally loved having the music playing whilst I was cooking.

I have been purchasing a lot of the pre-cut butternut pumpkin from Costco lately.  Not only is it much cheaper than the equivalent amount of pumpkin at a grocery store, but all the work has been done for me.  Who wouldn't love that?  I had two dishes in mind - Michael's Puréed Squash and Pear Soup and a Roasted Butternut Pumpkin with Honey & Rosemary, which is my own creation.

The soup is so easy to prepare.  I actually added an extra cup of pumpkin and an extra cup of pear to my soup.  I decided to use a Korean Jumbo Shingo pear and I didn't want the other half to go brown, so I just threw it in the roasting pan too. After roasting the vegetables I added a little vegetable stock and pureed them right in the pan with my Cuisinart Hand Blender.  The only problem with the hand blender is that it can tend to splatter the food so my solution is to put a plastic bag around the pan, cut a hole in the top, blend away, and then dispose of the bag. We wanted a chunkier soup so I skipped running it through a sieve.  I just returned the soup to the heat, added the remainder of the stock, and gently reheated it.  It is a wonderful soup with great flavor.  A little yogurt and chives on top and we were all in pumpkin soup heaven.

With the remainder of the butternut pumpkin I decided to roast it.  We ate some of it tonight for dinner and the rest will probably be used on a mini pizza.  I just love the combination of pumpkin, honey, and rosemary.

Pureed Pumpkin and Pear Soup
(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients 

• 2 cups diced butternut squash 
• 2 cups diced Bartlett pear
• 1 cup chopped white onions
• 3 garlic cloves, smashed
• 2 celery, stalks chopped
• 4 tbsp. butter
• 1 tsp. all-spice
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 1/4 cup Greek yogurt, garnish
• 3 tbsp. toasted squash seeds, optional garnish
• 1 bunch fresh chives, chopped, optional garnish

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 450°F degrees.
2. Place the squash, pear, onions, celery, allspice and garlic on a baking sheet and season with coarse sea salt and pepper and spread bits of butter throughout. Bake for 30 minutes.
3. Move to a stockpot and, using a hand blender, puree until completely liquid, adding as much of the stock as necessary.
4. Combine the puree with the rest of the stock and heat. Find the correct thickness and bring to a simmer for 15 minutes. Season to taste
5. Serve with a dollop of yogurt and chopped chives.

Recipe adapted from Verses From My Kitchen 

Roasted Butternut Pumpkin with Honey and Rosemary

(Printer Friendly Recipe)

Ingredients

• 2 cups pre-cut butternut pumpkin
• 3 tablespoons honey
• 2 tablespoons rosemary, roughly chopped
• salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

1. Pre-heat oven to 450°F.
2. Place pumpkin in a small roasting pan.
3. Top with honey, rosemary, salt, and pepper.
4. Roast for approximately 30 minutes.