Autumnal Apple, Pumpkin and Walnut Cake

It has become a habit of mine to post a recipe or two around this time of the year featuring pumpkin purée as a main ingredient. Pumpkins are brilliant, versatile, delicious and very healthy. In baking pumpkins do wonders to the texture of cakes and of course add subtle, autumnal and  comforting flavors; flavors that keep you coming back for more.  Pair this ingredient with the smooth and wonderfully spiced apple butter, sprinkle in some walnuts and you're in for a superb autumnal cake that will surely please everyone!

The recipe is perfect for less a gory Halloween celebration or for a sweet finish to your next thanksgiving dinner but it's also perfect for any rainy day when all you want to do is just cuddle under your blanket, drink tea and enjoy a sweet piece of moist  and delicious cake with a soft and creamy frosting. Sounds perfect, right?

Let´s start baking then.

For the cake (6 to 8 persons) you need :

• 3 eggs at room temperature
• 210 g brown sugar
• 150 browned butter (the French call it beurre noisette)
• 9 g baking powder
• 3 tbsp maple syrup
• 210 g cake flour
• 115 pumpkin purée
• 115 apple butter
• 100 g lightly toasted and roughly ground walnuts (leave some big chunks if you like)
• 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp mixed spices (cloves, star anise, ginger, cardamom, nutmeg)
• dash of salt

Start by combining the flour, walnuts, baking powder, salt and spices and set aside.

In your mixing bowl beat the eggs on a high speed and add the sugar, when the mixture triples in volume and becomes pale and thicker add the browned butter at low speed and mix until combined.

With a spatula add the pumpkin purée, the apple butter and the maple syrup, mix again and lastly fold the flour mixture.

Pour the batter in three 15cm pre-prepared pans (or in two 23cm) and bake in a preheated oven (175C) for 25 minutes. Remember that the baking time might vary so check on the cake after 20 minutes.

For the frosting you need:

• 250 g soft butter
• 250 g cream cheese at room temperature
• 220 g powdered sugar
• flavoring: 1 tsp maple syrup, 1/4 tsp mixed spice or just use vanilla essence.

Combine all ingredients and beat for about 5 min until creamy and fluffy.

Assembly:

Smear some frosting on your cake tray or stand. Put the first cake layer and pipe a generous amount of frosting. Add the second layer and repeat with the second and third layer. Cover the last layer with the frosting. 

I decorated the cake with marzipan apples, pumpkins, acorns and leaves and colored the frosting to go along with the painted fruits and leaves.

Do take some time to make this cake and I´m sure you will like it.

Finally I wish everyone a Happy Halloween.

For more pumpkin recipes click here, here and here.

Chocolate Orange Crinckles and Crackles

After a long and hot summer, I can´t be happier with the arrival of autumn. The temperature are still rather high for this time of the year but not hot enough to prevent us for enjoying chocolate in all its baked goodness. Baking season is on again, and what better than chocolate cookies to start with?

The chocolate cookies recipe I chose will yield not only delicious but also very pretty cookies without any decoration effort. The cookie dough expands and cracks the white sugar layer creating a mosaic effect of black and white that is unique to each cookie.
These cookies have a soft and fudgy texture and can be made in no time. Kids and adults alike can enjoy them with a cup of milk or a cup of coffee.

Like always, recipes can be tweaked to suit your individual taste. The flavors I used to enhance and complement that of chocolate were orange and coffee. But you can add whatever flavor that goes well with chocolate or just enjoy the taste of pure chocolate. 

For  about 24 to 25 cookies you need

• 110 dark chocolate, melted
• 60 g soft butter
• 100 g brown sugar (you can use more if you like sweeter flavors)
• 100 g flour
• 25 g cocoa powder (unsweetened)
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp baking powder (about 3 g)
• dash of salt
• 1/4 tsp instant coffee (optional)
• the zest of one small orange (about a tsp)
• 2 tbsp milk
• fine sugar and powdered sugar for coating 

First sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt then add the coffee if you are using it.

In a mixing bowl, cream the butter, sugar and orange zest. Once the mixture is creamy add the egg and whisk until combined, add the chocolate and mix again. When the mixture is homogeneous, and at the lowest speed, add half of the flour mixture mix then add the milk and finish with the second half of the flour mixture.

Refrigerate for at least 2 hours, either in the bowl, or transfer it to a small square container (about 16 x 16 cm). Once the dough is really cold, you can use a small ice cream scoop to form small balls or just use a spoon. If you left the dough in the square container, divide it into 24 small squares and roll them into balls.

First, roll the balls in the fine sugar then give it a good coating of powdered sugar. Be generous with the sugar to get a really elegant and beautiful result.

Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper and place the cookie balls on top and make sure you give them enough space to expand while baking. The recipe will be enough to fill 2 baking sheets so if you don't have 2 sheets, bake the first  batch while the remaining cookies still happily in the fridge.

Bake in a preheated oven (180C) for 12-14 min. Leave the cookies to cool for at least 5 min on the baking sheet before transferring them onto a cooling rack.

Enjoy a mouthful of melting chocolate cookies with a refreshing autumn flavor that will comfort you any time and every where.