Pumpkin Fun

Little Man has a near-Halloween birthday, so we tend to make a lot out of autumn-themed festivities.  One such activity is the carving of the Jack O Lantern.  This year I think we're still going with insect-themed luminaries.  We will unveil those soon along with a Pumpkin Gelato recipe that Major Obvious is making this afternoon.  In the meantime, here are some of our previous pumpkins and a link to the World Wildlife Federation's stencil page (the source of our butterfly jack o lantern this year).

Happy Carving!

Springtime Treats - Macaroons!

 One of my favorite springtime treats is the macaroon.  These delights are not necessarily seasonal, but I have always found their pastel prettiness to coincide nicely with daffodils, chocolate bunnies and pink ribbons. 

    

    Now these are kind of tricky to make the first time out.  The good news is that even if they are a little deformed, few people will turn them down.  So a few tips to help you:  

1.  Do not use a tiny little oven where the heating element is only 2 inches away from the macaroons.  You may burn the darlings and cause your kitchen to fill with smoke.  And your smoke alarm might go off.  (I may have had some personal experience with this). 

2.  Try using an oven with a window so you can check your progress and hopefully avoid the debacle from #1. 

3.  You will probably have to break out the scale to measure the ingredients:

125g/4½oz confectioner's sugar 

125g/4½oz ground almonds (may have to hit up a gourmet store for this)

2 tbsp water

110g/4oz granulated sugar

your favorite ganache, buttercream, or whipped cream for filling

optional:  your favorite food coloring and decorations

 

1.    Preheat the oven to 170/C/325F/Gas 5 and line a large baking tray with baking paper.

2.    Put the icing sugar, ground almonds and 40g/1½oz egg whites together in a large bowl and mix to a paste.

3.    Put the water and caster sugar in a small pan and heat gently to melt the sugar, then turn up the heat and boil until the mixture starts to go syrupy and thickens - I don’t use a thermometer but if you prefer to use one, it should read 115C/239F at this stage.

4.    Whisk the remaining 50g/2oz egg whites in a small bowl until medium-stiff peaks form when the whisk is removed from the bowl, then pour in the sugar syrup, whisking until the mixture becomes stiff and shiny. For coloured macaroons, add a few drops of food colouring. Tip this meringue mixture into the almond paste mixture and stir gently until the becomes stiff and shiny again.

5.    Spoon into the piping bag. Pipe a little mixture under each corner of the baking paper to stop it sliding around. With the bag held vertically, pipe 4cm/1½in flat circles onto the lined tray, about 2cm/¾in apart, twisting the bag after each one. The mixture should be quite loose to give a smooth finish. The piping will leave a small ‘tip’ on each circle so, when they’re all piped, give the tray 2–3 slams on a flat surface to flatten them. At this stage, sprinkle with desiccated coconut if you want.

6.   Leave to stand for 30 minutes to form a skin then bake in the oven for 12–15 minutes with the door slightly ajar until firm. Remove from the oven, lift the paper off the baking tray and leave the macaroons to cool on the paper. When cool, sandwich the macaroons together with filling.

recipe from Lorraine Pascal, BBC Good Food's Baking Made Easy 

Chocolate Celebration Cake

Last week, my brother (Pan Pan) and his wife (Miss Amy) visited from San Francisco.  Pan and I are very similar...we both enjoy cooking, talk in movie quotes, and laugh really loudly.  Interestingly enough, Miss Amy is very much like my husband, Major Obvious.  They both look forward to dessert, get along wonderfully with children, and love dogs.

When we are lucky enough to have someone come and visit us on their birthday, I love to bake them a cake for his or her special day.  For this reason (and the aforementioned penchant for sweets), I made Chocolate Celebration Cake for Miss Amy.  This recipe makes a very large molded concoction that can easily stand up to any frosting you slather on it, cream cheese, buttercream, or just a huge dollop of freshly whipped cream.  We ate this bad boy with Madagascar vanilla ice cream and enjoyed many subsequent evenings of leftovers with fresh raspberries while watching X Factor or How I Met Your Mother.

Chocolate Celebration Cake

Largely from “Cooking with Mr. Latte” by Amanda Hesser

1 1/2 cups sugar


5 ounces  bittersweet or semi-sweet chocolate


¼  pound unsalted butter (1 stick), plus more for greasing the pan


2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda


1 teaspoon baking powder


1 teaspoon salt


1 cup milk


1 teaspoon cider vinegar


2 eggs


1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ - 1 Tablespoon instant espresso

cocoa powder for dusting the pan

Directions


1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Put the sugar, unsweetened chocolate, butter, and 1 cup of water in a saucepan. Place over medium heat and stir occasionally until all of the ingredients are melted and blended.  Remove from the heat and stir in espresso.  Let cool slightly, 15 to 20 minutes. 



2. Meanwhile, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a small bowl, stir together the milk and vinegar. Grease and cocoa powder a decorative cake pan, a bundt pan or a tube pan.

3. When the chocolate in the pan has cooled a bit, whisk in the milk mixture and eggs. In several additions and without overmixing, whisk in the dry ingredients. When the mixture is smooth, add the vanilla and whisk once or twice, to blend.  Put the batter into the pan and bake on the middle rack until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool on a rack.

4. You can also use this batter to make chocolate cupcakes or a layer cake, just adjust the baking times.