pumpkin cupcakes with maple cream cheese frosting

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Adapted from David Leite

Yield: 17 to 18 cupcakes

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for greasing pans
1 cup firmly packed dark-brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk mixed with 1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cups canned solid-pack pumpkin

Frosting
Two (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup

1. Preheat the oven to 350° (175°C). Line a cupcake pan with 18 liners.
2. In a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugars on medium speed until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, salt, and pepper into a medium bowl.
3. Add the eggs 1 at a time to the mixer, scraping down the sides after each addition. Alternate adding the flour and milk mixtures, beginning and ending with the flour. Beat in the pumpkin until smooth. Scoop the batter among the cupcake liners — you’re looking to get them 3/4 full. Rap the filled pans once on the counter to release any air bubbles. Bake the cakes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 20 to 25 minutes. Cool the cupcakes on racks completely.

Make the frosting:
In a stand mixer beat all the ingredients on medium until fluffy. Frost the cupcakes.
I plopped a little hunk of homemade pumpkin nut brittle on top of each cupcake.

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ginger snaps

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground ginger
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup shortening
1 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup dark molasses
1/3 cup cinnamon sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Sift the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt into a mixing bowl. Stir the mixture to blend evenly, and sift a second time into another bowl.
Place the shortening into a mixing bowl and beat until creamy. Gradually beat in the white sugar. Beat in the egg, and dark molasses. Sift 1/3 of the flour mixture into the shortening mixture; stir to thoroughly blend. Sift in the remaining flour mixture, and mix together until a soft dough forms. Pinch off small amounts of dough and roll into 1 inch diameter balls between your hands. Roll each ball in cinnamon sugar, and place 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet.
Bake in preheated oven until the tops are rounded and slightly cracked, about 10 minutes. Cool cookies on a wire rack. Store in an air tight container. 

 

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dark and stormy

  

In a collins glass filled with ice, add:

2 oz Gosling’s Black Seal rum
5 oz ginger beer

Garnish with lime and serve immediately.

 

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ghost cookies

3 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
3 cups of all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment cream the butter & sifted powdered sugar together until light & fluffy. Mix in the vanilla. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour & salt then gradually add it to the butter mixture. Beat just until flour is incorporated, you do not want to over mix the dough.

Divide the dough into two fat disks & wrap each one in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 2 hours or over night.

When you are ready to roll out the dough, preheat the oven to 325* and line two or three baking sheets with parchment paper. On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thick. Cut out cookies with a cookie cutter of your choice, dipped in flour. Gently place the cookies onto the prepared baking sheets.
Bake for about 13 minutes or until lightly golden.

Cool completely before frosting. I just leave them on the cookie sheets set on a wire rack.

 
for the frosting you will need...
4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature (Philadelphia Brand recommended)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted



In an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Gently add the powdered sugar then beat at medium speed until smooth and silky, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add food coloring a few drops at a time until desired color is achieved.
Frost the cookies with a thick layer of frosting and place them back on the parchment lined baking sheets until the frosting hardens. This usually takes several hours.

 

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simple plum tart

(adapted from sunny anderson)

1 (9-inch) store-bought round pie crust
1/4 cup fig jam
1 pound plums cut into 1/4-inch wedges
1 egg plus 1 tablespoon water, whisked for egg wash
1/2 cup raw cane sugar 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Remove pie crust from refrigerator 10 minutes before using to soften slightly. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Unfold pie crust onto baking sheet. Spread fig jam on crust leaving a 2-inch border around the edges. Place plums on top of the jam. Fold edges over leaving the center exposed and press slightly to seal. Brush outside of the pie dough with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.
Bake until dough is cooked through and golden, about 45 minutes.
Serve warm with ice cream.

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butter cinnamom sugar cake

butter + cinnamon + sugar = cake

adapted from Lisa Yockelson, Baking Style; Art, Craft, Recipes

2 3/4 cups unsifted bleached AP flour

1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar

3 large eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons half and half 

cinnamon/sugar topping: 1/2 cup granulated sugar blended with 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon.

Preheat oven to 350*.
Film the inside of a 9x9 by 2-inch pan with nonstick flour-and-oil spray.

For the batter, sift the flouBeat in the eggs one at a time, mixing only until incorporated. Blend in vanilla extract. On low speed, alternately add the sifted mixture in 3 additions with the half and half in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the sifted mixture. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl with a rubber spatula to keep the batter even textured. Beat the batter on moderately high speed for 30 seconds. The batter will be very creamy and moderately dense.

Scoop and scrape the batter into the prepared baking pan. Smooth the top with a rubber spatula. 

Bake the cake in the preheated oven for 40 to 45 minutes, or until risen, set and a wooden toothpick comes out clean when inserted 1 to 2 inches from the center. Cool the cake in the pan on a cooling rack for 5 minutes. Sprinkle half the sugar-cinnamon topping evenly over the surface of the cake. The first sprinkling will cause the surface to darken as it absorbs the mixture because the cake is emitting warmth. Let the cake rest for 30 minutes, then sprinkle the remaining sugar-cinnamon topping on the surface of the cake. The dual sprinklings at different cake temperatures with result in an interesting definition of taste and color. Serve the cake cut into squares or fingers directly from the pan.

en

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