Tag Archives: pumpkins

Manhattan in the Fall

1 Oct

The Best Time of Year

Fall is hands down my favorite time of year in the City. It’s nice enough to sit outside in a cozy sweater with a glass of wine without the heat of summer on the pounding on the pavement (aka: the stench of garbage on the streets). Farmers markets have all the BEST things: apples, pumpkins, pears, squash, etc. and this only means… It’s time to break out the nutmeg, cinnamon and delicious spices that I LOVE to bake with! While it is unseasonably warm and muggy on this last day of September, I’m totally ready for a hearty slice of pumpkin bread for breakfast!

My original plan was to make two loaves of pumpkin bread: 1 for Rob to bring to his office and 1 for me to bring to my office. Well, as usual, in my small NYC apartment, I somehow misplaced my 2nd bread pan, so to improvise, I made a bundt cake!  That’s what’s great about this recipe, it can be used to make so many varieties of pumpkin goodness: bread, bundt cake and cupcakes! Have fun with toppings too! I used a simple powdered sugar topping for my bundt cake, but you can top with a salted caramel sauce, maple syrup frosting, the list goes on. There’s very few pieces of the baking process you can “play around with”, but the flavors are DEFINITELY one of them!

Fun Fact: Whenever I think of bundt cake, I can’t help but laugh. All the comes to mind is that scene in My Big Fat Greek Wedding when Toula’s mother doesn’t know what a bundt cake is and she “fixes” the hole in the cake with a potted flower. Such a great movie!

big fat greek wedding

Photo from Half a Tablespoon

Pumpkin Bundt Cake

finished slice

Prep Time:  30 Minutes
Cook Time: 1 Hour
Total Time: 1 Hour, 30 Minutes + cooling time
Yields: 12 – 14 servings

What You’ll Need:

  • 3 1/4 Cups of All-Purpose Flour
  • 2 Tsp of Baking Powder
  • 3 Tsp of Ground Cinnamon
  • 2 Tsp of Ground Cloves
  • 2 Tsp of Ground Nutmeg
  • 1 Tsp of ground allspice
  • 1/2 Tsp of Baking Soda
  • 1/2 Tsp of Salt
  • 2 3/4 Cups of Granulated Sugar
  • 1 Cup of Vegetable Oil
  • 4 Large Eggs
  • 1 Can (15 Ounces/1 3/4 Cups) of Pumpkin Puree

Instructions:

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and arrange the rack in the middle. Coat the 12-cup Bundt Pan with melted butter and coat lightly with flour. Tap out any excess flour. Set aside.
  2. Combined dry ingredients: Flour, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Cinnamon, Cloves, Allspice, Nutmeg and Salt in a large bowl. Whisk until combined and any clumps are broken up.
    dry ingredients
  3. Using the paddle attachment to your standing mixture (or just handheld), mix the sugar and oil on medium speed until the sugar is incorporated. This will take roughly 1 minute. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
  4. Return the mixer to medium speed, add the eggs, one at a time, beating well between each addition.
  5. Reduce the speed to low and add in the pumpkin. Beat until just combined, roughly 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
  6. This step, I prefer to use a hand held silicone spatula, but you can keep using the standing mixer on low speed if you desire. Fold the flour mixture, in 3 batches, into the pumpkin mixture until just incorporated. Scrape the bottom of the bowl to make sure all of the flour has been mixed.
    add flower
  7. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick comes out clean, roughly 1 hour to 1 hour and 10 minutes depending on your oven.
  8. Remove the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 15 minutes. Turn the cake out onto the wire rack and let it cool completely.
    Un sugared
  9. You’re now ready to top with whatever your heart desires! I picked powered sugar:

finished uncut   Finished Cut   finished slice

Enjoy!
Kristin

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Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple Frosting

28 Sep

Although the weather isn’t agreeing too much to the change of seasons, the pumpkins are on the stands and the apples are ready to be picked from the trees. This is one of my favorite seasons for baking because it’s the time of year where I get to include all the warm spices into my baking. It’s the season of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice and so much more! All those spices that make you want to curl up in front of the fire-place and watch an old movie. I’ve been on a pumpkin kick lately and whats better than pumpkin cupcakes with cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg with a dollop of maple flavored frosting on top?

Now, you may look at what you’ll need and think “wow! That’s a lot of stuff”, but I promise it’s an easy recipe to follow and all the ingredients can be found in your local supermarket. So have fun with it and play with the flavorings, that’s the best part of fall!

What You’ll Need:

For the Cupcakes:

  • 1 Cup of All-Purpose Flour
  • 1 tsp of Baking Powder
  • 1/2 tsp of Baking Soda
  • 1/2 tsp of Salt
  • 1 tsp of Ground Cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp of Ground Ginger
  • 1/2 tsp of Ground Nutmeg
  • 2 Extra-Large eggs – Room Temperature
  • 1 Cup of Canned Pumpkin Puree (8 ounces)
  • 1/2 Cup of Granulated Sugar
  • 1/2 Cup of Light Brown Sugar, lightly packed
  • 1/2 Cup of vegetable Oil

For the Frosting:

  • 6 Ounces of Cream Cheese – Room Temperature
  • 3 tbs of Unsalted Butter – Room Temperature
  • 1/4 tsp of Natural Maple Flavor
  • 1/2 tsp of Vanilla Extract
  • 2 Cups of sifted Confectioners’ Sugar

To Prepare:

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F
  • Brush or spray the top of the muffin tins with vegetable oil and line them with paper liners

Directions:

In a medium bowl, sift together  the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin puree, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vegetable oil.

Add the flour mixture into the liquid and stir until combined. You’ll notice that the batter will begin to lighten a bit.

Divide the batter between the prepared tins. I used an ice cream scoop to make insure and even amount of batter in each cup and fill about 3/4 of the way up. Bake the cupcakes for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Set aside and let them cool completely.

Now for the frosting! As the cupcakes are cooling you can start preparing the maple frosting. In a large bowl, use a rubber spatula to cream together the cream cheese and butter until smooth. Stir in the maple flavoring and vanilla extract. Slowly add in the confectioners’ sugar and mix until smooth.

Once the cupcakes are completely cooled, spread the maple frosting over the top and enjoy!!

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