Brown Butter Pumpkin Cake

Brown Butter Pumpkin Cake

(Adapted from Fine Cooking)

Probably the best pumpkin cake that I have ever had. Ever.

Makes one 13x9 sheet cake or one double-

layered cake

CAKE

6 oz. (3/4 cup) unsalted butter

9 oz. (2 cups) unbleached all-purpose flour

1-1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1-1/2 tsp. baking soda

3/4 tsp. table salt

1 ½ cups pumpkin puree (not pie filling)

1 ½ cups granulated sugar

2/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1/3 cup buttermilk

FROSTING (DOUBLE IF MAKING LAYER CAKE)

4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature

¼ cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon table salt

1 cup heavy whipping cream

FOR THE CAKE

1. Position a rack in the center of the

oven and heat the oven to 350°F.

2. Layer cake: Butter two 9-inch round

cake pans, line the bottoms with

parchment, butter the parchment, and

flour the pans). Sheet cake: Butter

and flour one 13x9 pan.

3. Melt the butter in a heavy-duty 1-

quart saucepan over medium heat.

Stir frequently, until the butter

turns a nutty golden-brown, about

4 minutes. You will see brown bits

appear at the bottom of the pan – this

is what will give you that golden-

nutty-caramel flavor. Be very careful

not to burn! Pour into a small bowl

and let stand until cool but not set,

about 15 minutes.

4. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour,

cinnamon, ginger, cloves, baking

5. In a large bowl, whisk the pumpkin

purée with the granulated sugar,

brown sugar, eggs, and buttermilk

until very well blended.

6. With a rubber spatula, stir in the

flour mixture until just combined.

Gently whisk in the brown butter

until completely incorporated.

Divide the batter evenly between the

prepared pans. Batter will be very

thick – do not be alarmed.

7. Bake the cake(s) until a tester

inserted in the center comes out

clean, 25-28 minutes for 9-inch

round cakes or 28-32 minutes for

13x9 pan. Cool to room temperature.

FOR THE FROSTING

1. When cake has cooled, place cream

cheese, sugar, vanilla, and salt in

bowl of standing mixer fitted with

whisk attachment. Whisk at medium-

high speed until light and fluffy, 1 to

2 minutes, scraping down bowl with

rubber spatula as needed.

2. Reduce speed to low and add heavy

cream in slow, steady stream; when

almost fully combined, increase

speed to medium-high and beat until

mixture holds stiff peaks, 2 to 2 1/

2 minutes more, scraping bowl as

needed.

ADDITIONAL NOTES:

- Cake can be made in advance,

wrapped in plastic wrap and foil

and then frozen. Thaw at room

temperature before frosting.

(Uncover when thawing).

- Make the frosting on the day you

plan to serve the cake. (Whipped

cream will lose its structure and the

frosting will get soupy otherwise).

- Refrigerate the cake (because of the

frosting).

Cinnamon-Chocolate Cupcakes

Ingredients:

¾ cup flour

½ cup sugar

2 tablespoons cocoa

½ tsp. soda

½ tsp. cinnamon

¼ tsp. salt

½ cup water

¼ cup vegetable oil

1 ½ teaspoon vinegar

½ tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

Combine first ingredients, mix well. Add water, oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Stir until smooth. Fill muffin cups half full with batter. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes. Yields 10 6 oz cupcakes.

Buttery Cinnamon Frosting

3 tablespoons butter or margarine

1 ½ cup sifted powdered sugar

¼ teaspoon cinnamon (or more)

pinch of salt

1 tablespoon milk

½ teaspoon vanilla

Beat butter until fluffy. Add ½ cup sugar and cinnamon and salt and beat. Add remaining sugar and milk alternatingly. Add vanilla last.

Summer Berry Buckle

The topping:

½ cup sugar

½ cup dark brown sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

¼ tsp. ground nutmeg

1/3 cup chopped toasted pecans

½ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into ½ inch pieces

The filling:

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

½ cup sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

2 tsp. baking soda

1 cup buttermilk

6 cups assorted berried (can use frozen berries)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350. Butter and flour 9 by 13 inch baking dish. To make the topping, combine the sugars, flour, nutmeg and pecans in a mixing bowl. Rub in the butter until the mixture is crumbly. Set aside.

To make the filling, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Mix in the egg. Sift the flour and baking soda together and add to the butter mixture alternatingly with the buttermilk.

Spread the mixture in the prepared dish and top with the berries. Sprinkle the topping over the berries.

Bake until the batter is set and the top is nicely browned, about 45 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature with vanilla ice cream.

Yields 8-10 servings.

Ginger Pear Cake -The Junior League of San Francisco

Serves 8

Ingredients:

3 cups water

¾ cup sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

3 large, uniform pears, peeled, halved, and cored

½ cup blanched almonds

¼ cup flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground ginger

2 large eggs

¾ cup sugar

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

½ cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons sugar

(For people that like more ginger flavor include slices of fresh ginger in the poaching of the pears and crystalized ginger layer on top of pairs and below the batter in the dish.)

Directions:

In a pan large enough to hold the pear halves in a single layer, combine the water, sugar, and lemon juice (and a few slices of fresh ginger if desired.) Bring to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Add the pear halves. Simmer, uncovered, for 8 to 10 minutes or until tender. Using a slotted spoon, remove the pears from the pan. Place cut side down on paper towels to drain.

Preheat over to 325 degrees. Generously butter a 9-ince round glass or ceramic baking dish. Place the pears in the dish with their cut sides down and stem ends pointing toward the center. Set aside.

In a food processor, chop the almonds with flour, baking powder, and ginger until finely ground, about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from the processor and set aside. Put the eggs and sugar in the bowl. Mix for 1 minute. With the machine running, add the butter and process for 10 seconds. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the flour mixture. Process just until the flour disappears. (Scatter chopped bits of crystalized ginger over the pears in the pan.) Pour the batter evenly over the pears. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Whip the cream with the sugar. Serve the cake warm, accompanied by the cream.

Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (we used whole wheat flour and I don't think it made a difference)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups quick-cooking oats (I'd go closer to 2 cups of oats)
• 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (we got these huge milk chocolate chips which were good, but I almost think they made the cookies too sweet...so I'd stick with the semi-sweet)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt; stir into the creamed mixture until just blended. Mix in the quick oats, walnuts, and chocolate chips. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto ungreased baking sheets.
3. Bake for 12 minutes in the preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.

Mini Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

Wicked Good Pumpkin Whoopies (Yields 18 pies)

Cookie ingredients:

• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 15 oz can pumpkin puree (approx 1 ¾ cups)
• 2 eggs
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1/2 tablespoon ground cloves

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease baking sheets if needed.

2. Combine the oil and brown sugar. Mix in the pumpkin and eggs, beating well. Add the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, 1 teaspoon vanilla, cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Mix well.

3. Drop dough by heaping teaspoons onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 10 to 12 minutes. Let cookies cool then make sandwiches from two cookies filled with filling

Whoopie Pie Filling

• 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
• 6 tablespoons butter, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla extract in small mixer bowl on medium speed until fluffy. Gradually beat in powdered sugar until light and fluffy.

Peach and blueberry crumble

hey guys!

I made this really delicious peach and blueberry crumble last night in Nashville and it was so delicious. I highly recommend trying it at some point this summer. I didn't do the whole ramekin thing because it seemed like it would take too much effort, so I just made it in an 8x11 (ish) pan. The only thing that was strange was that I don't think the crumble topping ever really browned...maybe it'd be better to bake at 375 instead of 350? We ended up just cooking it longer but it was still very delicious. Defnitely requires vanilla ice cream.

xoxo,

margs

Peach and Blueberry Crumbles

From Ina Garten’s “Barefoot Contessa at Home”

Serves 5 to 6

For the fruit

• 2 lbs firm, ripe peaches (6-8 peaches)
• 2 tsp grated lemon zest
• 2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup fresh blueberries (1/2 pint)

For the crumble

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
• 1/2 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 lb (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Immerse the peaches in boiling water for 1 minute; then place them immediately in cold water. Peel the peaches, slice them into thick wedges, and place them in a large bowl. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, sugar and flour. Toss well. Gently mix in the blueberries. Allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes. Spoon the mixture into ramekins.

3. For the topping, combine the flour, sugars, salt, cinnamon and butter in a food processor. Pulse until the butter is the size of peas. Rub the mixture with your fingertips until it’s in big crumbles, then sprinkle evenly over the fruit. Place the ramekins on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper or Silpat®, and bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until the tops are browned and crisp and the juices are bubbly. Serve warm or at room temperature.