Is It The Thought That Counts? Probably Not...

Sorry...Bad blogger here...It has been a long time since I have posted and it is NOT because I haven't been thinking about it. I can't find my camera battery charger so my camera has been dead for a long time and my only way of taking pictures not is with my iPod or my phone (neither of which have the best quality in my kitchen lighting). Good enough answer? Probably not. I also had my last final training push before my 1/2 marathon, with that coming pre-race nerves, fidgetiness, and inability to concentrate on one thing at a time (I got a lot of cleaning done at home...if only it was thorough in one room rather than a little here and there...). Good enough answer? Not really.  My race went well and I finished pretty much spot on my goal. 2:00:25! 25 seconds slower than my goal, but in a 2 hour race, 25 seconds on my first 1/2 marathon is acceptable.

My lack of blogging hasn't meant a lack of cooking and baking, however. I mean, a girl has to eat, right?!

Apple-Cinnamon Bread

Chili with Homemade Yogurt
and Cornmeal Biscotti
(Biscotti recipe to come!)

Garlic and Herb
Sandwich Loaf

Granola Bars

Lots of Apples and Squash!
Soups, Barley Risotto (YUM!)

Sun-Dried Tomato and Herb
Sourdough

And then I made cake. My birthday cake, to be exact. Kyle was opposed to me making my own cake, but when I told him what I wanted, he thought it better that I do the baking.

My Birthday Cake!

When it came to conceptualizing what I wanted for a birthday cake, I knew I wanted an explosion of warm fall flavors. Pumpkin, apple, maple, a hint of cinnamon...So I made it. I got ideas from the Pumpkin Dream Cake on The Novice Chef blog, then adapted it a little and made it my own. The pumpkin and homemade apple sauce made a nice dense and very moist cake that held up very well, the only cinnamon in the recipe is in the frosting so it is a pumpkin cake with highlights of cinnamon, rather than the oft-done pumpkin-cinnamon combination. The pumpkin is definitely highlighted. The cake itself isn't overly sweet at all, though the frosting is very rich. And for decoration I used Sucanat, which is a raw sugar with all of the molasses still in it, giving it a sweet, bitter, warm flavor with a little crunch.

MY Pumpkin Birthday Cake

For the cake:

3 cups all-purpose flour (or cake flour. I used 1/2 and 1/2)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup brown sugar

3 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract (or vanilla bean paste)
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin
1/2 cup homemade apple sauce
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 300〫F.  Butter 2 9" cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment, then butter the parchment. Set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. In the bowl of a mixer, cream together butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, then mix in vanilla, apple sauce, and pumpkin. The batter might look like a broken sauce, and that is fine. Stir in flour mixture in 3 parts and milk in 2 parts, beginning and ending with the flour. Divide evenly between cake pans and bake until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean with a few clinging crumbs (not sticky with batter), about 35-45 minutes. Let cool in the pans for 10-15 minutes before removing to cool on a wire rack.

For the Frosting:

12 oz cream cheese or neufchatel , softened
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (or vanilla bean paste)
2 teaspoons cinnamon
6 cups powdered sugar

In a stand mixer, cream together butter and cream cheese. Stir in maple syrup, vanilla, and cinnamon until combined. Add powdered sugar until combined and beat on high until smooth.

Assembly:

Trim cakes if needed. Assemble 2 layer cake with a heavy layer of frosting between layers. Apply a thin crumb coat to the surface of the cake and refrigerate cake and remaining frosting for 1/2 hour. Frost the cake generously (licking fingers if need be). Sprinkle top of cake with 1-2 TB of sucanat (optional, but recommended!)

Sorry for the picture quality (or lack there of). See excuse #1 above.

Slice, share, enjoy with a cup of coffee. Or a pumpkin ale. Or a big ol' glass of milk.

I am working on developing a bread recipe of my own, so you might expect to hear some venting about the process, and hopefully a final recipe that turns out just the way I want it.

Cheers!