Pumpkin Cake with Cinnamon Glaze

It’s Halloween week here in Easy as Pie, and mostly everywhere else. Great party out there, even if we, Barcelonians (?),  don’t celebrate it as the English do. But still. Halloween calls for orange things, right? Orange things like pumpkins! If you tell me Halloween doesn’t scream for pumpkin probably you are from Mars.

So, pumpkin! I baked this cake instead of the typical pumpkin pie just because. Don’t ask me for complicated reasons behind my cooking behavior.

Besides, I made my own pumpkin puree so yeah, I’m cool like that.

That’s not cheating, right? Buying a peeled and non-seeds pumpkin, I mean. It’s still homemade! :)

Whatever. Put the prepared pumpkin in a baking sheet and bake for about fifteen minutes depending how big the slices are.

The slices will be soft and fork-tender.

I used a food mill to make the puree but you can either use a food processor or a potato masher.

In a large bowl mix light brown sugar, regular granulated sugar and butter. Add eggs, one at a time. And when you get a creamy sweet batter add pumpkin puree. 

 In another bowl mix flour and spices; I used cinnamon and nutmeg, you can add a bit of ginger if you want to. Then, add the flour mixture and milk alternately to the butter/pumpkin mixture.

Note: I used soy milk and the result came perfectly fine, if you don't want to use soy milk use whole milk instead.

Once you got a smooth orange-y batter, pour it into a greased baking pan or covered by baking paper, like I did.

Bake for 45 minutes approximately.

 I used a relatively small baking pan usually used for Plum Cakes, so some batter left over. With that I made some pumpkin cupcakes with my new silicone baking molds, which are perfection because any kind of grease is needed. Aren't they also so autumn-like?

Bake them for 15 minutes or until a pick inserted in center comes out clean. 

Now let's make the glaze. Very easy. Just mix confectioners' sugar, cinnamon and milk in a bowl and pour over the cake. Yum yum!

I did enough glaze for the cupcakes also so...

There are two options: pouring some glaze over the cupcake, which is okay, and dunk the cupcake in the glaze, which I highly recommend... you'll know what you're doing.

This cake was really good, the pumpkin taste it's not very obvious but it leaves a nice sweet aftertaste. I highly recommend covering all the cake in glaze even if it falls through the sides and the cake seems it's swimming in glaze. Trust me in this one, BETTER if this happens.

PUMPKIN CAKE WITH CINNAMON GLAZE

Serves a large cake or a small one with 6-7 cupcakes :)

• 1  (15-ounce) can pumpkin
• 3/4  cup  granulated sugar
• 3/4  cup  packed brown sugar
• 1/2  cup  butter, softened
• 4 eggs
• 1  teaspoon  vanilla extract
• 3  cups  all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1  teaspoon  baking powder
• 1/2  teaspoon  baking soda
• 1/2  teaspoon  salt
•  6 tablespoons milk (soy milk works as well)

 Glaze:

• 1 cup confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2  tablespoons milk

Once you got the pumpkin puree ready...

1. Preheat oven at 200ºC
2. In a large bowl mix light brown sugar, regular granulated sugar and butter. Add eggs, one at a time. And when you get a creamy sweet batter add pumpkin puree. 
3. In another bowl mix flour and spices; I used cinnamon and nutmeg, you can add a bit of ginger if you want to. Then, add the flour mixture and milk alternately to the butter/pumpkin mixture.
4. Pour batter into a greased baking pan or covered by baking paper.
5. Bake for 45 minutes or until a pick comes out clean.
6. While the cake is baking make the glaze. Mix all glaze ingredients together.
7. Once the cake has cooled pour the glaze over it.
8. Let the glaze cook and get its typical consistency and enjoy!!

xo,

Adela*

Recipe sneak peek!

Can you guess? It involves some kind of orange thing...

I'll post the recipe later today. See you soon!

xo,
Adela*

Mocha Whoopie Pies

There is the common believe that chemistry is like baking. I confirm that. Chemistry and baking are like sisters, the first one is tough and hard-worker, the other one sweet and innocent. But sisters, which implies some kind of relationship and resemblance.

Chemistry involves some kind of mathematics that prevent blowing up the lab, like, literally. Chemistry is that bad-ass. Baking is fun and imaginative, but also involves mathematics in its recipes, knowing each ingredient and experimenting with them, just as chemistry involves imagination and thinking outside the box (natural qualities of its younger sister).

With all that blah I want to say that not following the rules, and by rules I mean recipes, to the letter is goooood, really good. Without all that imagination and self-confidence baking gives me, I wouldn't eva' eva' came with these delicious, drooling and adults only little things. You read well. Adults only. Because of the coffee, nasty-minded...

I got to say, even not coffee lovers love this. If you are... then you are gonna love me. hahahah
You are warned.

Start making the one to blame: an espresso or concentrated coffee. And by concentrated I mean 3 tablespoons of coffee crystals and 2 of water.

Add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a large mixing bowl. Set aside.

In a separate bowl mix unsalted butter and brown sugar (packed). Add egg and vanilla and mix until smooth.

 Add the butter mixture into the large bowl. Add the coffee, the milk and mix well till combined. 

Spoon the mixture and put in a cookie pan. Bake for ten minutes and you will have these delish little things, buuuut nothing compared with these little things with an amazing coffee filling. I mouth-water just thinking about it... 

While the whoopie pies are in the oven make the filling. This filling is more like an icing but whatever, it tastes amazingly well. 


Mix powdered sugar, butter and instant coffee crystals and voilà! You got it.

Spread the filling on the whoopies

Yum! These with the morning coffee and you are ready to roll all day long!


xo,
Adela*








MOCHA WHOOPIE PIE

• 3 tbsp instant coffee crystals
• 2 tbsp water
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 8 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup (packed) brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup milk

FILLING

• 200g powdered sugar
• 1 stick butter
• 2tbsp instant coffee crystals

1. Preheat oven at 375ºF/190ºC. Mix instant coffee and water in a cup or glass.
2. In a large bowl mix flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
3: In a different bowl mix butter and brown sugar. Add egg and vanilla. Combine.
4. Add butter mixture in the large bowl and mix well together.
5. Add coffee and milk and mix till smooth.
6. Drop about one teaspoon of batter onto a baking sheets. Bake for 10 minutes or until the cakes spring back when touched. Let them cool for about 5 minutes.
7. Mix all filling ingredients and spread filling on the cakes. Refrigerate the whoopie pies for 10 minutes before serving.
8. Enjoy!