Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Loaf

This recipe was taken from a website called The Kitchn. (Not a typo). Same anti-vowel vibe as Canadian performer The Weeknd. My thanks to the recipe creator. I've copied your recipe word for word. 

Love chocolate? Love lots of spice? Love pumpkin? Maybe you love stodgy loaves? Let's put it this way....two cups of pumpkin in one loaf does not make for light and fluffy. 

Ingredients:

• 2 large eggs
• 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin purée (about 2 cups)
• 3/4 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup neutral oil, such as vegetable or canola
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons semisweet chocolate chips, divided

Methods:

Let 2 large eggs sit on the counter until room temperature. Arrange an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and heat the oven to 350º F. Coat a 9x5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray, then line with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the two long sides to create a sling.

Place the eggs, 1 can pumpkin purée (about 2 cups), 3/4 cup packed brown sugar, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, and 1/3 cup neutral oil in a large bowl. Whisk until smooth.

Add 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves, and 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom, and whisk to combine. Add 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour and fold into the batter with a flexible spatula until the flour is almost completely incorporated.

Add 1 cup of the semisweet chocolate chips and fold until no streaks of flour the remain and the chips are evenly distributed, being careful not to overmix. Transfer to the loaf pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons semisweet chocolate chips over the top. (I did not do this)

Bake for 35 minutes. Loosely tent the loaf pan with aluminum foil. Bake until a tester inserted in the center comes out mostly clean with a few moist crumbs attached, 25 to 45 minutes more. Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Grasping the excess parchment paper, remove the bread to a wire rack and let cool completely.

                                                                                            Bake it for a long time.

Pumpkin Spice Latte Cake

'Tis the season for all things 'pumpkin spice'. I tried this cake the other day and have to say it's yummy. I particularly like the espresso icing. The recipe came from a website called Celebrating Sweets.

Cake Ingredients:

• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder (which I forgot to add unfortunately)
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1.5 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup sour cream ( I used plain yogurt)
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Icing Ingredients:

• 10 tablespoons softened unsalted butter
• 2.5 cups powdered sugar ( also called icing sugar)
• 2 teaspoons milk plus more if needed
• 2 teaspoons espresso powder
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Methods:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. 

Whisk together the first 6 ingredients for the cake.

In a second large bowl, whisk the pumpkin, brown sugar, granulated sugar, yogurt or sour cream, oil, eggs and vanilla. Add the flour mixture and mix until just combined.

Grease a 9 x 9 inch baking tin and pour the batter into the pan. Bake for 22-26 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centre come out clean. Cool the cake while making the icing.

To make the icing use a mixer to beat the butter until smooth. Add the powdered sugar 1 cup at a time, followed by milk, espresso powder and vanilla. Spread the icing over the top of the cooled cake. 

(I must admit that I made a few adjustments to the recipe as stated above since I dislike using a lot of butter in an icing. I used much less butter, somewhat more espresso powder, perhaps more icing sugar and no milk, but as much heavy cream as I needed to get the consistency I wanted.) 

Leek, Apple and Brie Tart

My friend Janice sent me this recipe that was published in the October edition of Fifty-Five Plus Magazine. She thought I would like it, and indeed I do. 

Something to remember when using leeks is that they need to be washed thoroughly. Because of the way the plant grows, soil can get caught in some of the layers of this vegetable.

Ingredients:

• 4 tsp. butter
• 1 cup thnly sliced leeks (white and light green parts only)
• 2 cloves of garlic minced  (this I omitted because I am not a huge garlic fan)
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 sheet of frozen butter puff pastry, thawed
• 1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 cup thinly sliced apple
• 1/2 cup diced brie cheese ( I used rather large slices)

Drizzle:

• 4 tsp. honey
• 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
• 1 tsp. Dijon mustard

Methods:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees F. 

Melt 2 teaspoons of butter in a skillet and saute the leeks, along with some salt and pepper. This will take about 6 minutes. Stir in the thyme and let the mixture cool.

In a small saucepan, melt another 2 tsps. of butter, stir in the vinegar and 1/4 tsp. pepper. Set aside.

Unroll the puff pastry and place it on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Prick the entire surface of the pastry with a fork and then brush the surface with mustard leaving a half inch border all round.

Scatter the leeks over the pastry and then arrange the sliced apples on top. Brush with the butter/vinegar mixture and place the cheese on top.

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the pastry is golden. Drizzle with the honey mixture as you like.

Homemade Pizza by Sylvia

 

My sister Sylvia is a great home cook and knows a lot about combining ingredients to create a tasty end result. The following is her simple recipe for pizza. I happen to like the onion-heavy look of this one. 

Ingredients:

• 1 frozen pizza shell
• tomato sauce, enough to cover the pizza shell
• pepperoni
• cooked bacon, cut into bite-sized pieces 
• thinly sliced red onions
• sliced mushrooms 
• grated garlic- omit if you don't like garlic
• olive oil, a few drizzles
• parmesan to taste

Methods:

Preheat your oven as per the instructions on your package of frozen pizza dough. Place the frozen shell on a baking sheet and start adding the ingredients. I would add them in the order they are listed above, ending with the parmesan. 

Bake as per the instructions on your pizza dough package. It's actually quite difficult to mess up pizza.

Roquefort Carles

There's an unlikely spot for a food and gift emporium on Highway 28 enroute to Peterborough, ON. It's called Herma's and it's the only store that I've encountered that carries (among other great cheeses) a creamy blue cheese by the name of Roquefort Carles, hand made in France by the Carles famille. Here's a link to learn more...https://roquefort-carles.fr/en

German Plum Cake

Plums are one of the later summer fruits in Ontario. I have already made my favourite jam with yellow plums. I like to use purple plums in a cake. 

This recipe is an adaptation of a German plum cake on epicurious.com.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 pounds large plums (about 5-6)
• 1 1/2cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/2 cup sour cream (I used yogurt)

For the Topping:

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold 
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

Methods:

Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease a 9 inch x 13 inch x 2 inch baking pan.

Wash the plums, cut them in half, and remove pits. For each plum half, cut in half again or thirds. Set aside.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. 

Cream 6 tablespoons of butter with 2/3 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, until well-incorporated. Mix in the vanilla and almond extracts. Mix in flour alternating with the sour cream. Mix until just incorporated and smooth. Spoon into baking pan and spread evenly with offset spatula.

Insert the plum slices into the batter in even rows. In a small bowl, mix the topping ingredients together then distribute the topping over the plums. 

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until lightly browned and a cake tester comes out clean when inserted in the middle of the cake.