Pumpkin Zing

The yellow and brown leaves were swirling around this week in the brisk breezes. Autumn is such a great time of year. Pumpkins are showing up at the market and in front of the hardware store, ready to add their cheery color and wicked smiles once they become jack o'lanterns. Although this is the season of the year when things are ending in nature, it is often a time of new beginnings for me.

A couple of days ago a new stove and new dishwasher were installed. Any renovation of the kitchen that involves new cabinets or flooring or lighting or counter tops or new doorways or fewer wall will have to wait a while. The entry project has taken far longer than expected and Sweetie and I need a break from the stresses of construction. A new stove and dishwasher, however, are fine because they were installed in the very same places that the appliances they replaced lived. They are both stainless steel and quite beautiful in a way.

I decided that the best way to try out the new oven was to make a quick bread. Very little time is wasted if the loaf doesn't turn out well. We had some super ripe bananas, so banana bread went in first. Then I gave in to the rush of fall feelings and made pumpkin bread. Both were done in a much shorter time than in the recipe, probably because this oven has a convection feature. Unfortunately both were a little burnt on the bottom, too. I think I'll need to bake things on a rack that is higher in the oven.

Have you ever wanted to combine the flavors of pumpkin bread with the zing of a triple ginger molasses cookie? That's what I did and it is an exciting bread. The texture is moist from the pumpkin and the color is a nice deep orange, but the best part is the flavor. Pumpkin is the first note, but it is followed by spices of cinnamon and cloves and a burst of ginger. I sprinkled some sanding sugar on top as a reference to the sugar that the cookies are rolled in and it give a bit of a crunch which is really nice.

The banana bread was my usual one, so no recipe today, but I do want to give you the pumpkin bread recipe. It's a keeper.

Super Ginger Pumpkin Bread
a very gingery, molasses-y, nutty, pumpkin-y sweet bread

 2 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoons chopped crystallized ginger
1 teaspoon finely grated peeled fresh ginger
1 cup canned solid pack pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 cup brown sugar, packed
¼ cup milk

¼ light (mild) molasses
2 eggs
1 cup chopped walnuts
Sanding sugar topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x5x3 loaf pan.

Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl (both flours, soda and powder, spices).

Put the crystallized ginger, fresh ginger, pumpkin, brown sugar, milk, molasses and eggs in a mixing bowl and mix until well blended.

Add the dry ingredients and begin to combine. Add the nuts and mix just until all are well blended.

Pour into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Top with sanding sugar, sprinkled on thickly. Bake in preheated oven 45 to 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool in pan five minutes, then turn out of pan and cool on a cooling rack.

Cake for Year of the Dragon

One of the excellent things about belonging to a baking group like the Bread Baking Babes is that members sometimes steer you to a blog you might not have noticed. Recently we were told to check out Farine and I'm glad I did. She baked an unusual cake to celebrate the Year of the Dragon...Dragon Blood Cake, using blood oranges.

Blood oranges are similar to naval oranges, but have a dark orange-red juice that resemble blood color. This cake would have benefited from some extra blood orange juice drizzled on after it baked to jazz up the color, but the cake itself was full of flavor with both orange and ginger giving it some fire.

Another unusual thing about it is that it starts with sourdough starter and is without dairy ingredients. The texture more closely resembled pudding when Sweetie and I had some, but then it was still slightly warm. It was enjoyable as a different sort of cake, but I probably won't make it again quite this way. I think I'd like to use some almond flour in it, too, and a little less zest.

Since the lunar New Year started Monday you may want to celebrate the Year of the Dragon (Water Dragon this time) by trying this cake, too.


Farine's Blood of the Dragon Cake
http://www.farine-mc.com/2012/01/blood-of-dragon-healthy-new-year-orange.html?showComment=1327441695491#c8750413475984627340

For the starter
• 180 g mature levain (starter)
• 180 g white whole wheat pastry flour
• 180 g cultured buttermilk
• 25 g ginger syrup

For the batter
• 80 g extra-virgin olive oil
• juice and zest of 2 blood oranges
• 100 g unsweetened applesauce
• 50 g bits of crystallized ginger
• pinch of salt
• note: the oranges I used were very sweet and with the crystallized ginger and the bit of syrup in the starter, I didn't need more sugar. You should taste the batter prior to baking (one of the advantages of baking without eggs is that you can actually have a taste) and determine whether or not sugar should be added Elle's note: I added about a tablespoon of honey to sweeten it up a bit)

For the finished cake
• blood oranges
• confectioner's sugar


Method:
1. Starter is prepared at least 4 hours before baking: mix all ingredients with wooden spoon, cover tightly and let rise at warm room temperature

2. When the starter has doubled, add other ingredients, mix with wooden spoon and pour in oil-sprayed pan. Bake for 40 minutes in pre-heated 350°F/177°C oven

3. When done (a cake tester comes out clean), turn off the oven and leave the cake inside for another 5 to 10 minutes with oven door ajar. Cool on a rack

4. Dust with confectioner's sugar

5. Serve with freshly sliced blood oranges. Alternatively drench with blood orange juice before serving.