Category: Pumpkin - DragonWarden

Pumpkin Cupcakes

11/16/2020

While I started baking to accommodate my taste buds, now it's become an outlet for accommodating my eyes as a visual creative outlet. While I had started with browsing cake decorations, it occurred to me that baking cupcakes would give me many more opportunities to decorate on a mini-canvas ... and mini cupcakes even more so! And since I had some leftover pumpkin puree from my Fall baking, it seemed the perfect time to dig up some mini pumpkin cupcake recipes such as this one, which was moist and fluffy and more spice than sugar - my perfect combo.

1 cup (125 g) flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice OR:
- 1/2 tsp ground allspice
- 1/2 tsp ground ginger
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
2 large eggs
3/4 cup (150 g) packed light or dark brown sugar
1 cup (225 g) canned or fresh pumpkin puree
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line cupcake pans with cupcake liners.
Sift and whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spices together in small bowl. In another large bowl, whisk oil, eggs, brown sugar, pumpkin, and vanilla extract together until combined. Combine dry ingredients into the wet ingredients in portions of 1/3, combining completely between each addition.
Pour/spoon the batter into the liners, or if doing mini cupcakes, fill a piping bag and snip off the tip to help fill the cupcake liners. Fill each liner 2/3 full. For regular sized cupcakes, bake for 20-22 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. For mini sized cupcakes, bake for about 12-13 minutes.

Dairy-Free Pumpkin Pie

11/16/2020

As I've grown older, sadly, I've also grown more lactose-intolerant. While usually this is easily fixable with a tablet or two of Lactaid, I can also get very lazy about taking them (not to mention I don't want to be buying a box of them every other week). So I searched for a dairy-free version of pumpkin pie, and lo and behold, the internet delivered! Here's a version that I adapted from here.

1 pie crust
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg or allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 tbsp corn starch
1 cup regular, full-fat, canned coconut milk (make sure to shake up or mix the coconut milk before measuring in case the fat has separated)
2 large eggs + 1 egg white
1/3 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 15-oz can pumpkin puree (or 15-oz of fresh pumpkin puree)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Line a 9" pie pan with a single pie crust and put in the freezer to chill. Preheat oven to 425 F.
In a small bowl, whisk together the spices and salt. In another small bowl, mix the corn starch into the coconut milk.
In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Then beat into the eggs both sugars, vanilla, pumpkin, and spices. Whisk in the coconut milk.
Pour the filling into your crust. Bake the pie for 15 minutes, then lower the oven temperature to 350 F (you may wish to put a heat shield on the crust rim now). Bake for about another 45 minutes or until a knife or toothpick in the center comes out clean.
Once done, cool on a wire rack before serving.

Note: The pie pictured also uses the gelatin-stabilized Chinese whipped cream frosting and some hazelnut praline sprinkled on top.

Fresh Pumpkin (Puree)

10/19/2020

This might seem a weirdly simple item to have its own "recipe", but it's precisely because it's so simple that it deserves a call-out! It used to be that I depended solely upon canned pumpkin - which, don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with that. But, ever since I found out how easy it was to simply pop a fresh pumpkin into a pie or any other baked good looking for it, I couldn't resist buying up all those pie pumpkins in the supermarket whenever they came in season. (And they'll back you up if there's ever a repeat of the great canned pumpkin shortage of 2019!) Be aware that fresh pumpkin is also super moist - keep that in mind if your recipe is very sensitive to moisture content! I've so far not had any issues with just doing a straight ounce-for-ounce substitution of canned pumpkin (in fact, that extra moisture has been very welcome in some recipes) but forewarned is forearmed.

one or two pumpkins
Note: Pie pumpkins are smaller and sweeter. You can usually fit two on a baking sheet and it wouldn't change the baking time. Larger pumpkins work just as well for a lot of baking projects, but you probably won't want to try and stuff more than one in the oven at a time.

Set the oven to 425 F. Punch a few slits or holes into the pumpkin(s) with a knife for venting while it cooks.
Line a baking sheet with foil and fold up the edges a little in case juices vent or leak from the pumpkin. Set the pumpkin in the middle of the foil and then bake in the oven for 1 hour. The pumpkin skin will look slightly burnt but is easy to peel, and the inside should be totally soft (you can test if you're uncertain by sticking a knife or skewer through the side - it should be VERY easy to poke through).
Take it the pumpkin out and let it cool. To help it cool more quickly, you can peel back the skin and quarter it with a spoon (be very careful, it will be very hot and as soon as you open it probably a lot of super-heated steam will puff out).
Once cooled, scoop out the seeds and guts, then throw the meat of the pumpkin into a food processor. Process for a few seconds, pause to mix it up a little with a spoon, then process again. After two or three rounds of this, it should have released enough moisture that you can just leave it on and it will start to circulate itself until all the bits have been pureed.
Scoop out and either use immediately, refrigerate, or freeze for later use. (Note: you can also let it drain a little first by dumping it into a collander and letting it sit for a few hours.)

Pumpkin Cheesecake Tart with Cranberry Gelee

12/20/2018

For once, I was actively hunting for something new to make when I stumbled across this recipe. The inspiration was the very first Thanksgiving feast I would be making on my lonesome, and I wanted to top it off with a dessert that was traditionally-themed without being completely traditional. This was, arguably, the biggest hit not only of the night's feasting (and not just because it was sweet) but nearly out of all the things I have ever baked for my family. Even my father, the most famous scrooge of the family, prompted me no less than three times as to when I was going to make it again!

Pastry:

6 tablespoons blanched almonds
1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
1 large egg
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Pinch of salt

Filling:

12 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
Pinch of freshly ground white pepper
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of salt
1 1/4 cups canned pumpkin puree (10 ounces)
1/4 cup heavy cream
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature

Gelee:

2 cups fresh cranberries (1/2 pound)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
1 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin

In food processor, pulse almonds until coarsely ground. Add 1/2 cup of the flour and process to a fine powder; transfer to a bowl. In food processor, pulse the butter and confectioners' sugar until creamy. Pulse in egg and vanilla. Pulse in remaining 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon of flour, almond flour, and salt until a soft dough forms. Pat pastry into a disk, wrap in plastic, and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 325° F. On lightly floured surface, roll out pastry to 14-inch round about 1/8 inch thick. Roll pastry into 11 1/2-inch fluted tart pan with removable bottom. Gently press pastry into the rim. Fold in overhanging dough and press to reinforce the sides; sides should be twice as thick as the bottom. Trim off excess pastry and refrigerate until firm.
Line pastry with parchment paper or foil and fill with pie weights or dried beans/rice. Bake pastry for about 25 minutes, or until set. Remove parchment/foil and weights and bake for 10 minutes longer, until crust is golden and cooked through. Let cool slightly.
In a large bowl, combine cream cheese, brown sugar, ground spices, nutmeg and salt. Using electric mixer, beat at medium speed until smooth. Beat in pumpkin puree until smooth. Beat in cream, maple syrup, vanilla and eggs at low speed until blended.
Put crust on large, sturdy baking sheet and set in oven. Pour pumpkin custard into crust (make sure to leave a little space at the top for the gelee). Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until custard is just set but still slightly jiggly in center. Cover edge with foil if crust starts to brown too much. Transfer to a rack and let cool completely.
In medium saucepan, combine cranberries with 1/2 cup of water and cook over moderate heat until they begin to pop, about 5 minutes. Let cool. Transfer to blender and puree until smooth. Strain puree through a fine sieve. Rinse out saucepan.
Add sugar and 1/4 cup of water to saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring, until dissolved. Let cool. Stir in orange juice and cranberry puree.
In small bowl, sprinkle gelatin over 2 tablespoons of water and let stand until softened, 5 minutes. Microwave for 10 seconds, or until completely melted. Whisk gelatin into cranberry mixture and pour gelée over the pumpkin custard; shake gently to even it out. Refrigerate tart until set, at least 1 hour and up to 2 days. Remove the tart ring and serve.

Note: Remember to leave a little space at the top of the custard for the gelee. While you can get away with not doing so because the gelee should be a super-thin layer anyway, it was also very easy for the gelee to spill over the edges when I didn't account for it. While the custard will initially come out of the oven all puffed-up, it will settle in once it cools down, and should still have enough space for the gelee after being baked.

I discovered that I had an excess of filling and gelee after filling the tart to the brim. So have some ramekins ready and you can toss the extra in to be baked at the same time. Then you can "taste-test" guilt-free before the tart ever gets served!

Crumbly Pumpkin Bread

10/10/2018

I'm usually not a fan of pumpkin bread because I've tried enough of them to start forming this idea in my head that the pumpkin bread doesn't really taste like pumpkin or even bread, it just tastes like a really sweet bread-like cake. But this Fall season I made the mistake of forgetting to unpack a bunch of pie pumpkins from their grocery bags and within 2 days they were starting to get fuzzy around the stems, so I was forced to give them a bath and then bake them all at once. With bags and bags of pureed pumpkin now in the fridge, I had to go on a pumpkin-themed baking spree to try and free up some space.

Thank goodness for that, because after my family all got tired of the usual pies and cupcakes (I even tried a pumpkin-based drink) I finally broke down and tried this after it landed in my inbox ... and it has literally been the hit of everything pumpkin I've made so far. As usual, I cut the sugar (this time by quite a bit due to my usual experiences with pumpkin bread) and it turned out absolutely perfect with the sweet crumble top balancing it out.

For the bread:

Cooking spray
2 c ups all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cups (1 stick) butter, melted
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 cups pumpkin purée
1/3 cups sour cream
2 large eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract

For the topping:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp kosher salt

Preheat oven to 350°. Line an 8“-x-4” loaf pan with parchment paper then grease with cooking spray (or softened butter). In a large bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
In a separate large bowl using a hand mixer, beat melted butter, sugar, pumpkin puree, sour cream, eggs, and vanilla. Gradually add dry ingredients to wet ingredients until just combined.
Make topping: In a medium bowl, stir together all ingredients until large clumps form.
Transfer batter to prepared pan then scatter topping on top (you might not use all of it - use as much as to your taste). Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, about 1 hour to 1 hour 10 minutes.

Toasted Pumpkin Seeds

10/29/2015

For all the pumpkin baked goods I make, I've always just tossed the seeds away, mostly because I am a lazy eater and can't stomach the thought of cracking my way through the individual seeds. But my mother was handed a home-grown squash-pumpkin-type thing that she asked me to chop up for her, and I discovered the cutest fattest little seeds in it ever, and decided to give toasted seeds a shot.

I don't know if this particular variety simply toasts differently from the usual run-of-the-mill pumpkin, but around the 20 minute mark, they started exploding like a string of firecrackers. Quite the startling experience. So, you may wish to keep an eye (and nose) on the seeds halfway through - they might be done sooner than you think.

1 cup of seeds, plus one of the following flavorings:

Earl Grey & Honey Roasted (from Tastebook)

1 tbsp butter, melted
1.5 tbsp honey, melted
1 bag of Earl Grey Tea, removed from bag
1/4 tsp salt

Roasted Curried (from Tastebook)

1 tbsp coconut oil, melted
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cumin

Brown Sugar and Spices

1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon or pumpkin pie spices

Salted

1 tbsp butter, melted
1/2 tsp salt

Clean the pumpkin seeds by putting them in a colander and running them under water. Spread the seeds on a flat surface and pat dry.
Preheat an oven to 300 F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Choose one of the flavorings above and mix in a bowl along with the seeds until the seeds are all coated evenly.
Spread the seeds in a single layer on the baking sheet and bake for about 45 minutes or until golden brown. Stir them every 10 minutes or so to prevent burning. (You may not need the entire 45 minutes - check whether you can take them out early starting at about 30 minutes.)

Pumpkin Bread / Cupcakes

10/4/2015

This recipe came from a good friend of mine, and even when accidentally over-baked, it still turned out more than edible, so it's quite robust! The original recipe called for 1.5 cups of sugar, but as I'm notoriously sugar-shy, I dropped it down to 1 cup and folks are still loving it. I think one can also experiment with some brown sugar substitution instead, to give it that extra holiday-taste and help keep even more moisture in. The original recipe also called for only 3 cups of pumpkin, but since my family loves the pumpkin taste, I bumped that up to 4.

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 cups shredded fresh pumpkin
(optional) chopped walnuts

Servings: 1 loaf or 1.5 dozen small cupcakes

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Sift the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together.
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs, then mix in the vanilla, sugar, and vegetable oil. (If the oil remains separate, use a hand whisk and beat until everything looks reasonably combined.) Combine with the dry ingredients and then fold in the shredded pumpkin (and walnuts if you're adding them). Once the ingredients are all incorporated pour into a non- stick 9" x 5" loaf pan (if your pan is not non- stick, coat it with butter and flour) or spoon into 18 cupcake molds.
For loaves, bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes. For cupcakes, bake for 35-40 minutes. Remove to cool for 5-10 minutes, then move either the loaf or the cupcakes to a wire rack to cool completely so that steam trapped between the pan and the bread doesn't make it soggy.

Note: A sour cream cheese frosting goes GREAT with this!

Easy Pumpkin Pie (using fresh pumpkin)

4/9/2015

When I say easy, I mean EASY. Other than the baking times, which are really hands-off anyway, there's probably 5 minutes' worth of actual work - and even then, you can take shortcuts, such as using pre-made crusts and un-flavored canned pumpkin. Yay for the modern conveniences of blenders!

1 9" pie crust
1 (pie) pumpkin or 20 oz canned pumpkin
1 (12 oz) can evaporated milk
2 eggs
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt

One of the following:

2 tsp pumpkin spices

or

1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger

Servings: a 9" pie

To cook a fresh pie pumpkin:

Set the oven to 425 F. Cut slits into the pumpkin for venting, and place in the center of a baking sheet and bake for 1 hour.
Take it out and let it cool. Core it and dig out the cooked flesh, measuring out about 2.5 cups. Throw into a blender to puree.

Blind bake the crust (optional - this prevents the bottom crust from becoming hardened, but is not absolutely necessary):

Set the oven to 425 F. Roll out the crust and shape into the pie pan.
Lay a sheet of parchment paper inside the crust and fill with uncooked rice, beans, or pie weights.
Bake the crust in the lower part of the oven for about 13-14 minutes, until the edge of the crust begins to turn golden. Take the crust out and remove the pie weights and parchment paper.
Beat an egg white and brush over the interior of the pie crust. Return to the oven for another 5 minutes.

To assemble and bake the pie:

If baking using a raw crust, set the oven to 425 F. If baking using a blind-baked crust, set the oven to 350 F.
Blend all the filling ingredients together. Pour the filling mixture into the crust.
If baking the filling directly in a raw crust, bake the assembled pie for 10 minutes, cover the crust edges with foil so that it won't burn, turn the oven down to 350 F, then bake for another 30 minutes. If baking with an already blind-baked crust, simply bake the pie for about 45 minutes.

Note: If using canned pumpkin, make sure it is NOT the pre-spiced/sugared version. Read the ingredients list on the side of the can and make sure it ONLY lists pumpkin. 2.5 cups of pumpkin is about the equivalent of 20 oz, so you may need to get two cans. If you are making a deep-dish version, you will want to increase that to 3 cups, and add about 10 minutes to the cooking time.

Pumpkin Chocolate Swirl Cake

1/1/2015

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup solid-pack pumpkin
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Confectioner's sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 10- to 12-cup capacity Bundt cake pan.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice and salt.
In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, pumpkin, sour cream and vanilla, then mix again. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, mixing well after each addition.
Set aside about 1 1/2 cups of the cake batter. Pour 1/3 of the pumpkin batter into the pan. Mix the reserved batter with the cocoa and chocolate chips. Add dollops of the cocoa mixture onto the mixture in the pan. Top with another third of the pumpkin batter, then dollops of the cocoa mixture. Finish with the pumpkin batter.
Bake in the oven until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool in pan for 10 minutes. Invert carefully on a rack to finish cooling.
Serve dusted with confectioner's sugar.