A Pumpkin is not just for Halloween

Chocolate, Pecan and Pumpkin Cake

Pity the poor old pumpkin. Abundant and plentiful in the two weeks before Halloween when everybody wants to be its friend, only to be granted 'billy no mates' status the day after, and disappearing into the great pumpkin graveyard in the sky.

It did make me think that surely we, and I, could do more with a pumpkin at than just turning it into a lantern. With perfect timing a few weeks ago when pumpkins were everywhere, I came across this unusual spiced chocolate cake by accident, and it immediately intrigued me. Pumpkin I have used to make soup (yum) and pie (not that fussed, to be honest), but never cake. I love chocolate in all its forms and am always drawn to rich, dark chocolate cakes which are a little out of the ordinary. 

Chocolate, pumpkin, and cinnamon are all flavours that work in any combination, so it makes sense that they all work together. Pumpkin adds a richness and sweetness, as well as moisture to what is quite a solid, but not heavy, cake. Pecans add crunch, while cinnamon lends a spicy and exotic warmth that is so right and comforting at this time of year. 

This is a proper, dark, grown up chocolate cake and I think a slice of this is best served on a cold afternoon, cosy under a blanket, watching a black and white movie, with a cup of tea, and as always, a dollop of whipped cream.

For the Cake

(adapted from Chocolat by Eric Lanlard)

125g pecan nuts

225g dark chocolate (70% cocoa solids), roughly chopped

150g unsalted butter

3 medium eggs

275g dark muscovado sugar

275ml water

3 tsp vanilla extract

250g self-raising flour, sifted

3 tsp cinnamon

100g peeled, deseeded pumpkin, grated

To Decorate

extra whole pecan nuts (optional)

Cocoa powder or icing sugar for dusting

You will need a 23cm / 9in diameter springform cake tin, greased and lined with baking paper

 
1. Preheat the oven to 170C / 150C fan / 325F / Gas 3.

2. Toast the pecan nuts in a dry frying pan over a low heat for about 10 minutes until they have deepened in colour slightly and begin to release their nutty fragrance. Keep an eye on the nuts during this time as they can easily burn. A little moving around with a spoon or shaking the pan from time to time doesn't hurt. Leave them to cool, and then roughly chop.

3. Put the chocolate and butter into a heatproof bowl and place over a saucepan of barely simmering water until melted (make sure that the surface of the water does not touch the bowl). Beat the melted mixture until combined.

4. In a bowl whisk the eggs and sugar together for about 5 minutes until thick and creamy. Continue whisking while adding in the melted chocolate and butter, and then add in the water and vanilla.

5. Stir the cinnamon into the sifted flour, and fold into the chocolate mixture until smooth, followed by the grated pumpkin and chopped pecan nuts.

6. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin and decorate with whole pecans if you wish.

7. Bake for 1 hour 10 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the centre. Leave the cake to cool in the tin for about 10 minutes, then turn out on to a wire rack to cool completely.

8. When the cake is cold, wrap it in cling film and foil and keep at room temperature for at least 24 hours before eating, and before serving, dust with cocoa powder or icing sugar.

Baking Notes

The original recipe calls for a teaspoon of cayenne pepper to be stirred into the pecan nuts before toasting, but I actually omitted this, mainly because it didn't really appeal. However, when I make it again, I will be brave and add it. You never know, it might be a 'taste sensation'!

Noted in the ingredients list is that you can use butternut squash as an alternative to pumpkin. It does exactly the same job, and the bonus is that it is more readily available than pumpkin, and so much more easy to cut.

If you decide to try this cake I would love to know what you think of it. And if you do add the cayenne pepper.....well done!

Revisiting Old Favourites

Fresh Pear Shortcake
I recently decided that I was going to put myself on a self imposed ban on buying any more cook books, and more specifically, books on baking. There are so many in my collection that I don't use on a regular basis that I really want to revisit them all to uncover some hidden (and forgotten) gems.
I predict, though that this will not be easy. I can become so enthused by a new cooking show on the television that I want to rush out and the buy the accompanying book, only to read it (usually in bed), ear mark pages of recipes, make a couple of them, and then leave it to gather dust while something else catches my eye (I am sure I am not alone in this).

Consequently, space is currently in short supply in which to house them all. In reality, how many books on baking do I need, and how many recipes can one person make in a lifetime? There are so many sources now in which to find recipes that I really need never to buy a baking book again.
I am a keen browser of the internet and magazines for recipes and inspiration, and as I have mentioned before, I have a large file of recipe printouts and tear outs which I enjoy giving a good old perusal now and again. Therefore, if I am to buy a new book now, then I need to be very specific about its content, and question whether it is different enough from what I have already in my collection. In fact, when I think about it, this is how I approach buying a new handbag. I just need to apply this to all sweaters that are either grey or striped. 
To kick start my new thinking, this seasonal Fresh Pear Shortcake was a favourite pudding from my first cookbook* that I received for my 18th birthday and one I haven't actually made since.....gosh, I can't remember when.

I have tweaked the recipe slightly. Not by much, but when I made the shortcake for the first time a couple of weeks ago I thought that the addition of ground ginger to the 'buttery biscuit base' and almond extract to the topping would be very welcome. Both flavours are very good friends with pears and when I made it again I thought it worked quite well.
One word of advice though about the pears you select if you are going to make this. Please make sure that they are ripe to ensure they soften during the cooking time. If they are not ripe, or indeed, too hard, they will never soften in the cooking time. I know this from experience, and semi-cooked pears, although edible, are not the ideal. I also think that this dessert is better the day after making as the flavours will have developed. Keep it in the fridge overnight, and then bring it up to room temperature before serving.

 

For the Base

150g self raising flour, sifted

25g ground rice (or rice flour, which I used because I didn't have ground rice)

Grated rind of 1 lemon

50g dark soft brown sugar, sifted to remove any lumps

150g cold unsalted butter, cubed

1 tsp ground ginger

For the Topping

3 ripe large pears, all even in size, and about 450g in weight

125g full fat soft cheese

1 medium egg

1 tsp almond extract

2 tbsp flaked almonds (optional)

You will also need a 20.5cm(8 inch) loose based fluted flan tin, greased 

This will serve 6 people

1. Preheat the oven to 190C / 375F / Gas 5

2. Put the flour, ground rice or rice flour, lemon rind and ground ginger into a bowl and stir until well mixed.

3. Stir in the sugar and rub in the butter until a dough forms.

4. Put the dough into the tin and press down using your fingers until you have an even layer over the 

base. Mark into 6 portions and prick with a fork.

5. Bake for 25 minutes, take out of the oven and leave to cool in the tin while you prepare the pears 

and topping. 

6. Turn the oven down to 180C / 350F / Gas 4

7. Peel and halve the pears, and then scoop out the cores. You can use a teaspoon to do this, but I found that a melon baller (how very retro) works brilliantly. Also remove the stringy part that runs vertically from the top of the pear to the core, as that is not much fun to eat.

8. Score each pear half crossways in narrow but even sections and then place a half within each marked portion.

9. Mix the cream cheese, almond extract, and egg together until smooth and spoon evenly over the pears making sure it covers completely the fruit and shortcake. At this stage you can scatter the flaked almonds over the top if you like. I do like to do this because it adds a little crunch and makes the tart look pretty.

10. Return the tin to the oven and bake for a further 40 minutes until the pears are soft and cooked through, and the top is golden brown. (To check the pears, insert a skewer and if it goes in without any resistance, then they are done).

11. Take the shortcake out of the oven, and cool for about 10 minutes and remove from the tin.

12. Serve warm or cold, as you prefer, or the day after as I recommend.

 

 

Baking Notes

Ground rice, or rice flour are not ingredients you might have readily to hand, and I imagine that if you don't then it can be replaced with the same quantity of flour, but its inclusion gives the base a wonderfully short texture.

*I have mentioned the book before in a previous post, but it is the Good Housekeeping Cookery Book 'the classic cookery book, completely revised'. My version is from the mid 80s, which can be found here, but there are updated versions, should you prefer something a little less old fashioned. 

Small but Perfectly Formed

Baci di Dama
I had intended September to be all about biscuits ever since a friend at work told me that it was National Biscuit Month. Well, that clearly hasn't happened since we are now a third of the way through this very month and it is only now that I am posting a biscuit recipe. This month is actually an American celebration, and their biscuits are more like our scones, rather than the snack that you might dunk into your tea (or not). However, a small matter of  how a word is interpreted, or geography, makes no difference to me if it means I can bake.
I don't make biscuits that often, other than at Christmas (when I make a LOT) but I really wanted to bring you the most delicious, melt in the mouth, hazelnutty morsels, Baci di Dama, or, 'Ladies Kisses'. These biscuits are traditional to the Piedmont area in the northwest of Italy and are so named because the two halves are like lips kissing. The beauty of these is that they use very few ingredients - butter, sugar, flour, chocolate and hazelnuts - to make something truly special.

I think you all know by now about my love affair with almonds in a cake. Well, hazelnuts have the same effect on me in a biscuit. They have such a sweet, buttery flavour which works brilliantly with so many different other flavours such as chocolate, apples, raspberries and coffee, and that flavour and scent only deepens upon heating. 

Toasting and grinding whole nuts creates an infinitely superior product to pre-ground and when a biscuit uses so few ingredients, every one needs to count.
These biscuits are fairly simple to make if a little time consuming but don't let that put you off, as the results are worth it. Every step is there for a reason, so please don't be tempted to deviate from the method. The butter and dough have to be cold and the oven cool as it is this what ensures the balls sink into the characteristic domes to be sandwiched together. Dark chocolate is usually used for the filling, but since I had a great big jar of chocolate and hazelnut spread in the cupboard I used that instead, and it was perfect.

 For the biscuits
(adapted from food52.com)

100g whole hazelnuts, shelled and blanched

100g cold unsalted butter, cubed

100g caster sugar (I used my favourite golden caster sugar)

100g plain flour, sifted

For the filling

100g dark chocolate (melted and cooled), or 4tbsp of chocolate hazelnut spread

This recipe makes about 20 - 25 biscuits

1. Start by preparing the hazelnuts. Put them in a dry frying pan over a low heat and toast  
until they turn golden brown and start releasing their oils and fragrance, about 5 minutes. I would recommend that you stir the nuts while toasting to encourage even browning and
avoid burning, which can easily happen if you don't keep a careful eye on them.

2. Leave the hazelnuts to cool completely, place in a food processor and blitz until they are 
very finely ground.

3. Put the ground hazelnuts into a bowl with the sugar and flour and give it a stir to combine. Add the cubed butter and rub in until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. 

4. Press the mixture together until you have a dough. You should find that it comes together very easily, and requires virtually no kneading. 

5. Wrap the dough in foil and put in the fridge for at least an hour, preferably overnight. 

6. Take the dough out of the fridge and roll teaspoons of the mixture into balls. Place them onto baking trays lined with baking parchment, a couple of centimetres apart, and return to the fridge for a further couple of hours. 

7. Preheat the oven to 150C, and bake the biscuits for 15 minutes until the balls have become domes. They should be pale in colour. 

8. Take the biscuits out of the oven and leave to cool completely on the baking trays so they become firm enough to handle.

9. To assemble the biscuits, using a teaspoon place a small amount of chocolate or spread on the flat side of one biscuit, and then top with another biscuit to make a sandwich.

10. Keep in an airtight tin for 4 - 5 days. If they last that long.

Hallo Autumn.....

Bavarian Plum Tart (Zwetschgen Datschi)

....and goodbye summer. See you next year.

 

Autumn is probably my favourite season of the year. Not just because I am an Autumn baby, but also because I love the change in the light in the morning, the change in the colours of leaves on the trees, and layering up in cosy sweaters and scarves. And of course, it means that, (dare I say it), Christmas is not so far away.

With a new season brings seasonal produce to inspire my baking. Of course, you can buy most fruits and vegetables virtually all year round, but I much prefer to use them when they are truly in season. I like that it makes then certain cakes and bakes rather special as they can be seen as a representation of that season on a plate.

The one bake that absolutely signifies early Autumn to me is the delicious and very traditional Bavarian plum tart, known in Bavarian dialect as Zwetschgen Datschi.

Simply speaking, this tart is made from a yeast dough or sweet pastry, pressed thinly onto a baking sheet, covered with stoned and sliced plums and sprinkled generously with cinnamon sugar. When the plums cook the skin colour runs red and deepens and just looks so pretty.

Whenever I have visited Bavaria at this time of year, it is always what I have chosen from the bakery to have with my afternoon tea. What makes it so special is that the particular variety of plum used is only in season for a very short time. They are oval as opposed to round and have a very dark purple skin. I haven't seen them here in the UK, but while researching an equivalent, the Damson plum was suggested. However, I am not a patient sort and don't always have the time nor inclination to go a-hunting a specific ingredient when the same result can be achieved with an alternative. Therefore, I have used the darkest skinned plum that I could find for this tart. I would say though not to use the Victoria variety. Not because they are not delicious, and they are, but because their skins are not dark enough to give the colour that is so specific to this tart.

The recipe comes courtesy of my Grandmother, and I hope I have done it justice. She uses  the sweet pastry option for her version, for which I am thankful. Pastry I can make. Yeast dough is for me is......a little more of a challenge.

I hope that you give this a try and find it as delicious I do, and please, serve it with whipped cream. It is an absolute must. Lighter than double cream, it just works beautifully with this tart, and is how my Grandmother always enjoyed it.
 

 

 For the Pastry

300g plain flour, sifted

100g golden caster sugar

1 tsp baking powder

150g cold unsalted butter, cubed

1 large egg, beaten

For the Filling

500g dark skinned plums

1 tbsp demerara sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

I used a 9" loose bottomed square flan tin, greased, but you could just as easily use a swiss roll tin if that is what you have available.

1. Make the pastry by putting the sifted flour, caster sugar and baking powder into a bowl and stirring until combined. Add the butter and using your fingertips rub in until the mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs.

2. Make a well in the centre, add the egg and stir using a fork until the mixture starts to come together. Using your hands, press it into a dough. 

3. Form the dough into a ball, wrap in foil and place in the fridge for a couple of hours to rest.

4. Take the dough out of the fridge and allow it to come back to room temperature.

5. Put the dough into the centre of the prepared flan tin and press it down using your hands so it evenly covers the base and sides of the tin. Put the tin in the fridge while you prepare the plums.

6. Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F / Gas 4

7. Cut each plum in half, remove the stone and then cut each half into 4 and so that each plum gives you 8 segments.

8. Lay the plum segments lengthways across the pastry base in rows until all they all are used up.

9. Mix together the Demerara sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle liberally over the plums.

10. Put the tart into the oven and bake for 25 minutes until the fruit is cooked and the pastry is golden brown.

11. Cool in the tin before removing the tart. 
 

Baking Notes

If you want to make the pastry ahead of time then you can, as I did. I made the pastry the day before I made the tart and put it in the fridge. The next day I took it out and brought it back to room temperature before using it, which caused it no harm at all. You could also make the pastry in a food processor if you prefer. Just put the dry ingredients into the processor bowl, and the butter and whizz them altogether until you have the requisite fine breadcrumbs. Add the egg and pulse until a dough just starts to form. Then take it out and continue with the method from step 2.