Pumpkin x 2.

So listen, for as much as I say I hate fall, and I really do, I really love pumpkin. I love pumpkin pie, pumpkin bread, pumpkin muffins, pumpkin cake. I think it's a fantastic ingredient that's easy to work with coming out of a can and it makes everything so lovely to eat. Especially since it's associated with the holidays, it gets combined with my favourite spices of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves very often.

This past Sunday for brunch I made the pumpkin scones here on seven spoons. They were fantastic. I didn't change a thing about the recipe and neither should you. (I did however top them with half and half and sprinkle with turbinado sugar. Why not?)



Today I decided to use up the rest of the pumpkin from that recipe (it freezes great, just thaw it overnight) and make a pumpkin cake. This cake is so easy peasy you won't believe it. It's from Elinor Klivan's The Essential Chocolate Chip Book and the only thing I did differently was increase the amount of spices used. (PS if you haven't heard of her yet, get everything she's written - ASAP.)



Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

Cake:
1 1/2 cups AP flour
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
2 large eggs
2 cups chocolate chips

Start off by preheating the oven to 325 degrees F. and greasing a 9x9 inch baking dish.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and soda, salt and the spices. I like to use a piece of wax paper so I don't have another bowl to wash.

Then in a mixing bowl combine the pumpkin, sugar and oil. Then mix in the eggs one at a time until everything is combined. Stir in the dry ingredients thoroughly and then the chocolate chips until they're just mixed through.

Pour into the baking dish and pop it in the oven for 40 minutes. Mine literally took just 40 minutes until a toothpick came out clean.

Frosting:
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and cream cheese with the salt and vanilla until everything is creamy. Then add the sugar and beat slowly until incorporated, and then at a higher speed to lighten the frosting.

When the cake is cool, you can either take it out of the pan or leave it in and ice it with the frosting. I like lots of swirls on my cakes. This is supposed to make 12 squares or probably more like 8.

Use What You've Got : Carrot Cupcakes.

It hasn't stopped snowing now for at least 48 hours. And it gets tiring. All the shoveling, winter driving, making sure you have enough gas in your car in case you get stuck in a ditch somewhere.

So generally when I don't have to go anywhere during this time of year I don't. (basically I become a hermit) Actually, it's March now right? Usually this happens around January or February but you never know here in Buffalo. We're going through quite the storm and it will be (TECHNICALLY) spring in two weeks. But to get to the point I don't exactly have the nerves to get in my car and drive to the store to get stuff when I need it when baking. I use what I have.

I really dislike when people on recipe sites (epicurious.com coughcough) make a recipe, then rate it with 5 out of 5 stars when they substitute every ingredient for another ingredient... it's hardly the same recipe anymore! However cooking and baking are about using what you've got ultimately in my opinion. Cooking moreso, but when it comes to add-ins in baking I say why not. Therefore in this carrot cake I used pecans, not walnuts. I used melted butter, not canola oil or some fancy walnut oil (like one recipe I came across called for.) So here is my version of carrot cake. Loosely based on the one from Elinor Klivan's book "Cupcakes."



Cupcake batter:
1 cup AP flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup canola or corn oil (used melted butter, as mentioned. came out lovely.)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 teaspoons grated orange zest
1 cup finely grated carrots
3/4 cup golden raisins (I'm sure you could add whatever you want here if you're not a raisin fan. I considered dried cranberries and/or apricots for example.)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (pecans IMO)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. and line a 12-cup muffin pan with papers.

Sift the flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon onto a piece of wax or parchment paper and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the eggs and sugar until smooth and thick, about 1 minute on high speed. On low speed mix in the oil or butter, vanilla, orange zest until blended. Mix in the flour, carrots and other add-ins here and blend until just combined.

Fill each cupcake paper with about 1/4 cup batter and bake until the tops are firm and a toothpick inserted in the middle of each one comes out clean, about 28 minutes. (I think mine took about 24. Check early, they burn easily.)

Cool the cupcakes completely on a wire rack.

Orange Coconut Cream Cheese Frosting:
(These would be totally rad with just regular cream cheese frosting also I'm sure. I had to use up some coconut stuff that was in the freezer.)
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 to 4 cups icing sugar
1 cup sweetened flake coconut
1 teaspoon grated orange zest

Beat the butter and cream cheese until smooth and combined. Then add the vanilla and powdered sugar and beat on medium until well blended. Add the coconut and orange zest.

I liked these to be kind of home-y looking. I originally used a star tip to pipe the frosting on but it reminded me too much of a bakery I used to work at so I got my little icing spatula out and swirled away. Have fun with the garnishes on these. (I considered making these carrot sprinkles from Cupcake Bakeshop but didn't have enough time.) I used a toasted pecan half and toasted coconut that I then whizzed up in the food processor until it was a bit finer. I absolutely love these cupcakes and I hope you do too.

Cupcakes: Cure for a Headache?

I had THEWORST headache yesterday. And I don't like to exaggerate things like this because I dislike people that make things a bigger deal than they need to be. I mean, honestly, it hurt so badly all I could do was lie in my bed from the time I got home from work until about 8 o'clock at night. After the Excedrin kicked in I could sleep, therefore when I woke up I was actually rested and didn't feel sleepy at all. So what did I do then? I stayed up until 1 in the morning making cupcakes of course.

The first batch of cupcakes I made was a disaster. I don't know what I did wrong but they overflowed and caved in and the tops of them were crystallised with sugar. I don't know what it is but lately I've been having issues with cupcakes. Anyway I went to Lisa Yockelson's book ChocolateChocolate. I have never had a problem with any recipe by her. EVER. I remembered she had a recipe in the book for vanilla cupcakes called "The Cupcakes of My Childhood." How dreamy! And they really are. They taste like cupcakes from a mix, but they have none of the chemicals. Or cake flour, which I did not have. This might be my new go-to recipe for vanilla cupcakes. They come out perfectly every time.



As for the frostings I used the recipes most recently posted on Cupcake Bakeshop's blog. Both came out deliciously, however my chocolate frosting is not a shiny as hers!! But it still tastes amazingly chocolate-y and fantastic.

The Cupcakes of My Childhood adapted from Lisa Yockelson's ChocolateChocolate

Batter:
3 cups AP flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line 28 muffin cups with paper liners.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter until it's soft and creamy. Add the sugar 1/2 cup at a time until it is thoroughly incorporated. Add the eggs, one at a time and beat for about 30 seconds after each one is added. Add the egg yolks and vanilla extract. Then alternately add in the flour mixture and the milk, beginning and ending with the flour.

Scoop about 1/4 of batter into each prepared cup. Bake the cupcakes in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes or until risen and slightly golden brown on top. When tested, a toothpick should come out clean. Turn out onto cooling racks and let cool completely before frosting.

Vanilla Frosting increased/changed slightly from The Cupcake Bakeshop
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (I changed this, it was originally extract. I love the look of the seeds!)
2 tablespoons milk
Pinch salt (I added this)

Beat the butter until soft, then add the powdered sugar and beat until incorporated. Add the vanilla and milk and beat until everything is completely combined and creamy.



Chocolate Frosting adapted from The Cupcake Bakeshop, which is originally from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook

5.3 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
3 tablespoons boiling water
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, room temperature
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla (I added this)
Pinch salt (I added this also. Must have a bit of salt with chocolate imo.)

Melt the chocolate in the microwave in 20 second increments until it's nice and smooth. Set aside to cool.

Combine the cocoa powder and boiling water to make a paste. Set this aside also.

Cream the butter and powdered sugar until creamy. Add the melted chocolate and beat. Then add the cocoa paste and mix until smooth and shiny.

Smooth both frostings on with a small icing spatula or spoon and indulge.

Chocolate Cupcakes For Visitors.

My cousins Jenny and Fred are in town for a few days from Michigan. I guess I'd like to say I'm known as the family baker, so whenever we have get-togethers I like to make sure to bring something for everyone to enjoy after dinner, with coffee or just with good conversation.

I woke up this morning, baked a batch of chocolate cupcakes, made some ganache while they were baking, then took the cupcakes out of the oven after they tested done. Then guess what happened? The cupcakes SANK. They CAVED IN. Needless to say I was pissed.

Then I remembered this recipe I made about a year ago from Dorie Greenspan's most recent book that I loved. They don't sink, they rise a bit in the oven, but then when you take them out they go flat, PERFECT for my ganache frosting. Thank you Dorie Greenspaaaan.

These cupcakes would be absolutely fine plain, but I adore sprinkles, dragees, anything shiny on top of my chocolate cupcakes. I just bought some pastel coloured ones at the store yesterday, so this was my opportunity to show them off.

Chocolate-Chocolate Cupcakes From Dorie Greenspan's "Baking, From My Home to Yours"

Cupcakes:
1 cup AP flour
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Hershey's Natural)
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk (I didn't have any so I used 1/4 cup sour cream, 1/4 cup half+half whisked together)
2 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled (I love Ghirardelli! Not expensive and delicious.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup cupcake pan with paper liners.

Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt onto a piece of wax paper.

Cream the butter and sugar together in a mixing bowl on medium until they are combined and smooth. Add the egg and the egg yolk, beating for 1 minute after each go in, and then add the vanilla. Add half the dry ingredients, then the buttermilk (or whatever), and then the other half of the dry ingredients until it's just combined. Then stir in the melted chocolate.

Divide the batter among the cupcake cups (I love my ice cream scoop for this!), place in the oven and bake for about 22 to 25 minutes, until the tops are springy to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.



I just used a basic ganache for the frosting:
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
10 ounces bittersweet chocolate

I melt these all together in the microwave for about a minute, stir, and then melt in 10 second increments until it's all smooth and mixed together. I then placed this in the freezer for about 20 minutes, whisked it, and used it as a thicker consistency.

When the cupcakes are completely cool, use an icing spatula to swirl on the ganache, and while it's still soft, sprinkle on the toppings of your choice.